


The Doll and the Soldier

by ginatoldmeso



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst and Humor, Angst with a Happy Ending, Attempt at Humor, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Spoilers, Developing Relationship, Drama & Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, Humor, Implied Sexual Content, Light Angst, Mild Smut, Pining, Pre-Relationship, Romance, Sarcasm, Sexual Humor, Slow Burn, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-06
Updated: 2018-12-03
Packaged: 2019-06-06 09:33:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 37,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15191894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ginatoldmeso/pseuds/ginatoldmeso
Summary: New accords with the Government force the Avengers to be confined in the New Facility, and Bucky with them. The newest member of the team, a former psychiatrist with a sharp tongue, finds a way to help him, but no one imagined that they would fall in love.





	1. Part 1

**[ON THE QUINJET]**

_“Steve, it’s okay. I’ll find someplace to stay. You don’t owe me anything”, assured Bucky. Thanks to T’Challa, the fight between Tony and Steve had been stopped. Tony had given up his personal revenge, but things were still pretty tense. For that reason, him refusing to welcome Bucky in the Avengers facility didn’t come as a surprise. After all, the Winter Soldier had killed the Starks, it didn’t matter that he’d been brainwashed._

_“I wouldn’t resign myself, yet, if I were you. He’s gonna change his mind once we’re home…”, suggested Natasha, her swollen lips curled into a smirk. Steve smiled knowingly at her remark. “Nat is right. We still have our secret weapon”. Bucky looked at his friend in confusion._

***

“Morning”, everyone greeted entering the New Avengers Facility.

Bucky looked around. It was 5 in the morning and the building was silent. There was only one person awake.

“Oh good, you’re back. How’d it go?”, asked Y/N from the kitchen. She was sitting on the marble countertop, wearing an old large Pearl Jam t-shirt and eating cocoa pebbles out of a large bowl. Bucky’s eyes lingered on her bare legs.

Nat shrugged and sat next to her. “Could’ve gone better, I suppose”. She hinted at the entrance, where Fury and Steve were talking with a man. Y/N frowned, recognizing him.

“Wait, is that-”

“- Thaddeus Ross in person, yeah”, Tony completed the phrase for her, making his way towards them.

Y/N put down her cereals, narrowing her eyes. “What the _hell_ is the Secretary of State doing here? Are we still in trouble for the Sokovia accords thing?”. She waited a moment for an answer, then her eyes widened. “Guys, are we going to jail? Orange looks terrible on me, I can’t go to jail”. She was acting worriedly, but it was clear she was joking. Natasha rolled her eyes in amusement.

Tony looked straight in Y/N’s face. “Long story, I’ll explain later. Right now I need you to do something for me, Y/N”.

The young woman let out an overly dramatic sigh before speaking. “I know, I know. Don’t be rude, be quiet and respectful, and absolutely don’t be myself in front of Ross cause he’s a very important person and I’m annoying. You don’t have to repeat yourself”.

A mischievous smirk appeared on Tony’s face. “Actually, I need you to be exactly yourself in front of him. But like, worse than usual”.

Y/N grinned at the request. “Really? I can say whatever I want?”, she asked with a raised eyebrow as if she hardly doubted that the man was serious. “Tone, you never want me to do that”, she laughed lightly, crossing her arms.

Tony nodded. “Admittedly, I never thought I would ever do this, but I’m encouraging you, kiddo. Tear him apart”. He winked at her, grabbing an apple from a fruit bowl on the counter and biting into it.

Y/N’s grin became even wider as she jumped down off the kitchen isle and clapped her hands. “All right, let’s have some fun”. Then she furrowed her brows for a moment, pensively. “Wait a moment, is Steve on board with this? Also, what are we trying to do? Like, intimidate him, insult him or make him run away?”

She never asked one thing at a time, Bucky noticed. She just bombarded people with playful questions, like she didn’t really care about the answers.

Tony pretended to ponder the question for a moment. “Mostly the last one. Let’s say we aim to make him run away by insulting him”. She shrugged. “Good enough”.

Meanwhile, Fury, Steve, and Ross had walked through the door and were approaching the group. “The Avengers Assemble”, commented Ross scanning their faces with an annoying satisfied expression.

Steve clenched his jaw. He had a pout of bother on his face but promptly made the introductions. “Mr. Ross, may I introduce you to our most recent recruit, Y/N Y/L/N”. The man’s eyes wandered her body, pausing on her ensemble. He gave her a rude nod.

She glanced at Tony, before biting her lip and fluttering her eyelashes at Ross. “Hello, handsome”, she greeted teasingly. Then she blatantly checked out his uniform. “Are you the President?”, she asked excitedly, her eyes wide open. She was very credible. If he hadn’t listened to her a minute before, Bucky would’ve fallen for it. Around her, the others were clearly giving their all not to burst into laughter. Fury, on the other hand, didn’t seem bemused at all.

Ross, caught off-guard by the question, looked so thunderstruck that he even stutter while answering. “Uh no, young lady. My name is Thaddeus Ross, I’m the U.S. Secretary of State”. He searched for Steve’s eyes, trying to figure out if she was mocking him.

She whistled. “Really? Oh, wow! But, like- do we even need one?”, she joked before giving a small laugh. She had put on such an angelic expression that Ross didn’t notice the subtle trace of sarcasm in her voice.

He stood there awkwardly for a moment, then he cleared his throat. “I think it’s time for me to go. I want regular reports on every move you make”, he ordered while walking away, followed by Fury.

Just before exiting, Fury turned to look at the bunch. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

“Yes, sir”, replied Steve. With a last menacing look, he left.

After a few seconds, Steve addressed Y/N. “Dammit, Y/N! What were you thinking?!”, he blurted.

She opened her arms resignedly. “He told me to”, she said hinting at Tony.

Steve snorted. “Tony, are you crazy? You don’t understand the position we’re in, right now. We’re on thin ice, you can’t keep acting like a diva!”, yelled Steve in an exasperated voice.

Tony raised his eyebrow. “I perfectly understand our situation, Capsicle. You could even consider that I might understand it more than you do”.

Steve was fuming. “This is not a competition, Tony, it’s not a game!”

“Of course is not, that’s why I can’t let them treat us like puppets!”, insisted Tony. He then let out a sigh and gazed at Steve. “Look, I’m sorry. Maybe that wasn’t a very mature thing to do-”, Clint grunted at the statement. “- But I didn’t like the way he was talking to you. To us. We should never have signed those accords, you were right. They’re not trying to protect people from us, they just want to save their asses”. Tony rarely admitted his fault. That, more than anything he had said, contributed to calm Steve.

There was a moment of dead silence. Then Sam Wilson slowly started to snicker. “... _Are you the President_?”, he repeated looking at Y/N with tears in his eyes.

It took a moment, then the whole room resounded with laughter. Even Steve had to give in. “Okay, that was kinda funny, I have to admit”, he confessed raising his hands in a sign of surrender. He smiled at Y/N, but she was distracted.

She had just noticed Bucky in the corner of the room and was staring at him with a half smile. “Anyway, who is he? Is he Bucky? Are you Bucky?”, she asked without taking her eyes off of him. There was something piercing in her look that made him feel uneasy.

“I- I am, ma’am”, he replied. He couldn’t help but smile back. She was bewitching and beautiful.

The others observed their exchange in silence. Chuckling, Steve spoke to his friend. “Buck, this is Y/N. She’s one of our juniors”, he said jokingly.

“Hey!”, she protested at the introduction. She made a face at Steve, then turned again to face Bucky. “Hi, it’s so nice to finally meet you”, she grinned.

“Don’t get used to it. He’s not staying”, stepped in Tony. He wasn’t smiling anymore and he sounded bossy. Well, more than usual.

Y/N scowled at him. “What? Why not?”. She quickly searched for Steve’s eyes and seemed to realize what was happening.

Tony let out a hollow laugh. “Let’s see. Cause he’s a murderer, no, even better- an assassin trained by HYDRA, with no mental stability whatsoever, a tendency to forget who he is and to start killing anyone in sight... And oh, he killed my parents”, Tony hissed.

Y/N flashed Bucky an apologetic look, but Tony went on. “He’s not staying in my home. I’ve made a big effort not to kill him because I recognize he was brainwashed, make it suffice”.

Y/N huffed and made an incredulous face. “He’s also Steve’s best friend, and he needs help. Also, he’s standing _right here_ so you might wanna dial down your jerkiness”, she suggested through gritted teeth. “Tones, we must stick together, all of us. You know I’m right”. Bucky was about to intervene and tell Y/N that it didn’t matter, Stark was right, he would’ve left. But a warning look from Natasha prevented him from saying a word.

Tony looked away for a moment. “Y/N, I don’t care if you have a thing for stray dogs. He must be gone by tonight. Steve and Natasha already tried to change my mind and failed. Let it go, this time, kiddo”. And with that, he headed toward the stairs.

“Steve and Natasha ain’t me…”, Y/N murmured with a smirk before running after Tony.

Her remark made the others smile. “No, we’re not”, Steve whispered in simplicity, following her with his gaze.

“Tony, wait, wait, wait! Listen to me. Just, for a second? Okay? Please consider the consequences of your actions”, commanded Y/N with a smile, blocking Tony’s path.

“Excuse me, what did you say?”, he replied indignantly, widening his eyes as if he couldn’t believe his ears.

Y/N sighed and shook her head. “Oh, Tony… Sweet, little, innocent Tony. I know you have a big heart, deep inside. Think about it for a moment”, she chanted. Tony’s eyebrows couldn’t rise higher than that. Y/N pursed her lips, trying not to smile. She knew she was going to win. “James is staying. We both know that, right?”.

Tony snorted, then stared straight at her face. “Are you on drugs? Seriously, what is it with you?”.

She didn’t take the bait, however, and restricted herself to only rolling her eyes. “Okay, I didn’t wanna get to this, but you leave me no choice”, she admitted. Then she leaned towards Tony and whispered something in his ears. After a while, with an angry look on his face, Tony yielded.

“Fine, you won. He stays. But don’t expect anything else from me”, he seethed, just before storming out.

“Way too easy”. Y/N walked back to the kitchen and high-fived Steve, a satisfied smirk hovering on her lips. She glanced at Bucky once again, and he smiled at her.

“So you’re the secret weapon Steve told me about”, he questioned, an amused glint in his eyes. Suddenly her smile was uncertain, and she looked at Steve with a small frown.

Shaking his head, he quickly explained. “Nat and I confided in you to convince Tony”, he said as if trying to reassure her.

Her face immediately brightened up. Bucky had the impression that she was expecting a totally different explanation. “Oh! Well, then I guess I am”, she giggled. “You guys called me your secret weapon? That’s so sweet!”. The others replied with wide grins at her mischievous smirk.

“You seem energetic today”, laughed Clint.

She grinned at the comment. “You know what? I feel energetic, today. And I haven’t slept, it’s amazing”. She leaned on the counter and grasped her cereals bowl.

“Hey, Y/N? Could you take a look at my shoulder? I think it’s sprained”, asked Natasha.

Y/N immediately put down the bowl and rushed to her, expertly checking her shoulder. “Sure… Yep, dislocation. Ready?”.

Natasha began to reply. “Ye- OUCH!”.

Without warning, Y/N had reduced her dislocation with a swift, skilled movement. Nat gave her friend a killer look, but the other laughed it off. “...set, go. Sorry, Nat”. Y/N had a glance around. “Is anyone else injured? Please say yes”.

With a smirk, Steve intervened. “Yes, Bucky has a nasty cut”, he smiled, pointing at his friend chest. He chuckled at the scowl on Bucky’s face.

“It’s nothing”, the man muttered. He looked away, as Y/N raised an eyebrow in amusement.

“Let her help you, Buck”, pleaded Steve.

With a shrug, Bucky made his way towards Y/N and sat on a stool. He lifted his shirt, revealing a long cut across his abdomen, just above the hem of his jeans. Y/N’s fingers brushed against the stains of dry blood. Bucky tried not to shiver at the feeling of her hands on his skin. He hadn’t had been touched by a woman in a very long time, and Y/N seemed to have a strange effect on him.

“This is quite deep. It needs to be stitched or cauterized. Choose your death”, she said eventually, gazing up at him. Bucky noticed that her hand was still on his stomach.

He flashed a seductive smile at her. “Are you going to do it?”.

She made a face at him, her eyes twinkling. “Yes, unless you want a permanent mark”, she replied sarcastically, making him chuckle.

“Stitches, then”.

The corner of her lips curled. “Good choice. Stay still”, she ordered, grabbing the med kit that Steve was handing her. Bucky watched her filling a syringe.

“What’s that?”, he inquired worriedly.

“Anesthetic. You won’t feel a thing”.

Bucky snorted, bemused. After everything that had happened to him, a needle was the last of his concerns. “Don’t bother, I can take the pain”, he assured, softly grabbing her wrist. She stopped and stared at him, narrowing her eyes. For a moment he felt the urge to look away, consumed by the intensity of her gaze.

“I don’t doubt you can. But why do it, if you don’t have to?”, she asked in simplicity, her eyes never leaving him.

She wasn’t just talking about stitches, they both knew that. Bucky felt at loss for words, so he slowly nodded instead.

“Are you a doctor?”.

Y/N’s hands were quickly moving as she stitched his wound, while Bucky stared at her with a half smile, trying to understand that extraordinary woman.

She laughed quietly. “I’m many things”, was her cryptic response.

After a bit, she was done with the suture. But instead of cutting the thread with scissors, she tore it with her teeth. Bucky’s muscles stiffened at the feeling of her warm lips ghosting over his skin, and his cheeks heated up. Behind him, Steve and Nat exchanged a look, forcing themselves not to laugh. They knew Y/N too well, she was a tease.

“All sorted! I’ll change your bandages tonight”, she announced brightly.

Bucky quickly composed himself and smiled. “Thanks, doll”, he husked playfully.

She stared at him for a second, surprised by his flirtatious demeanor. She didn’t strike much as someone who let men call her names. In fact, she wasn’t. But locking her eyes in his blue irises, she smirked. “No problem, _James_ ”.

The kitchen filled with chatter and laughs, as the rest of the group, briefed Y/N on the events. Thanks to Fury, none of them was going to jail. Even though the whole team was now locked up in the Facility and had to send weekly reports at the council, they were all together and alive. It was easy to remain positive.

“Hang on, aren’t we gonna talk about how you managed to persuade Tony? I mean, what did you say to him? Was it something _sexual_ , like dirty talk?”, asked Sam between the general euphoria.

Y/N burst out laughing, tilting her head back. “God, no. No, I actually threatened him”, she explained scrolling her shoulders. They all looked at her in confusion.

“You threatened him? With what?”. Wanda’s expression was a blank stare. Y/N chuckled at their reactions.

“I told him that if he sent James away I would’ve made his life a living hell. Apparently, me being myself is everybody’s worst nightmare”, she observed with a mock scowl. Then she spoke to Bucky. “Which, for the record, is totally absurd ‘cause I’m a very pleasant person!”

“Of course you are”, scoffed Steve. He patted her on the shoulder, a sort of brotherly smile on his lips.

She raised her brows at his ironic tone. “Yeah, if you search for ‘pleasant’ in the dictionary you’ll find a picture of me. I’m serious you guys, quit giggling”, she complained. One could easily see that she was struggling not to smile. “You know what, I don’t have to put up with you jerks. I’m going to my room”, she said haughtily, marching away.

Bucky followed her with his gaze, his eyes lingering on the gentle swaying of her hips. Steve noticed his friend staring and smiled. In all the years they had known each other, Steve had never seen him looking at a woman like that.

“She’s something else, huh?”

Without bothering to look away, Bucky inhaled deeply. “She definitely is”.


	2. Part 2

“So, this is your room. It’s a bit bare, but we can fix it later. For now, you have a bed”, sighed Y/N.

She was showing Bucky the room she had prepared for him. It was simple, plain white walls, a small library, and a dresser. And of course, a Full-size bed, illuminated by the afternoon warm light that filtered through the large window.

“It’s more than enough”, replied Bucky with a small smile.

Y/N notice him looking at the window and chuckled. “I thought you might like a bit of sunshine. You can see the sunrise, from here, you know”.

The two stared at each other for a while, in silence. They were simply standing there, eyes lost in one another. After a minute, Y/N seemed to come to her senses and looked away, flushing a bit but still smiling.

She guided him in the corridor, pointing at the next door. She was nervously chewing her lips, and Bucky couldn’t stop a soft chuckle from escaping his.

“Okay, this is my door. If you need anything, company or else, just knock. I don’t sleep much, so don’t worry about waking me up”, she assured with a shrug.

Bucky nodded.

“Thank you. For everything”, he said in a low voice.

She grinned, that almost familiar glint in her eyes. Standing on her toes, she left a feather-like kiss on Bucky’s cheek. “Don’t mention it, James”. Without looking back, she turned around and walked away, waving her hand. Bucky shook his head in amusement and entered his bedroom.

It was 3AM when Bucky decided that there was no point in staying in bed. He wasn’t falling asleep, and he didn’t want to, either. He remembered Y/N’s words and thought he might as well give it a try. He quietly walked to her room and knocked. She opened the door almost immediately and smiled up at him, cocking her eyebrows. She was wearing a large hoodie that reached her knees. Her gentle curves were still distinguishable, despite the shapeless garment. Bucky nervously gulped.

“You’re up early”, she observed playfully. She knew that he never went to sleep.

“It’s true that you barely sleep, then”, he smirked, ignoring her remark.

Y/N chuckled, shaking her head. She involuntarily tossed her silky hair, in doing so. “I’ve never found that much comfort in sleeping”, she simply explained.

Yes, Bucky could perfectly relate to that. What followed was another silent stare, but this time it was Bucky the one who interrupted it.

“May I?”, he asked politely with a gesture towards the room. Y/N flinched, getting a hold of herself.

“Please”. She moved from the door, inviting him to come in.

Bucky looked around. The room was basically the same as his, but it was much fuller. And _definitely_ , the most chaotic place he had ever seen. There was a big library with tons of books on it. But there were also piles of books on the floor and on the nice sofa that replaced the bed. A big table full of papers and pens was placed under the window. The pieces of clothes were everywhere in the room. Y/N, who had observed Bucky, seemed to realize what he was thinking and laughed.

“I’m sorry, that must be a shock for a neat and organized soldier. Steve almost had a heart attack the first time he came here”.

Bucky laughed heartily but shook his head. “Actually doll, I was thinking that those were some really good paintings”, he complimented her. Y/N raised her head to see what he was talking about.

“Oh, those”. On the ceiling of the room were painted all the Zodiacs signs, surrounded by little gold stars. “Yeah, I don’t like empty walls. Tony wasn’t really happy about my initiative, though”, she chuckled at the memory.

She moved the books from the sofa so that they could sit. Bucky sat, careful to not invade her personal space. “So what’s your story? How did you end up an Avenger?”, he asked with curiosity.

She inhaled deeply, looking for the right words. “I didn’t really have a choice”, she said eventually. “I have these- powers. I was born like that… you know, human mutation. Superhuman healing factor and telekinesis”, she clarified.

“Sounds appealing”, smirked Bucky.

She laughed at that. “Yeah, I bet it does”. She paused for a moment before resuming, talking with a bright voice that didn’t match the look in her eyes. “I don’t always have control over them, though. It’s not safe to let me live among civilians. That’s why I’m here. Plus, my father had trained me in hand-to-hand combat since I was little, which makes me perfect for the job”, she joked.

Bucky nodded. “So they recruited you”.

Y/N shook her head with a smile and corrected him. “ _Actually_ , they found me by accident. Steve tried and contacted me after reading a study I had written. I’m a psychiatrist, you see. The best in NY”, she bragged, not without a certain dose of sarcasm. Bucky looked at her in surprise.

“Wait, how old are you?”, he frowned. It took him a moment to realize that it was a rude question and was about to apologize, but Y/N grinned slyly.

“I’m 25. Surprised?”

“Impressed, to be honest. So, when did he found out about your abilities?”.

She leaned against the armrest, her head thrown back, staring blankly at the ceiling.

“Well, SHIELD already knew about me, of course. And so did others. Trained assassins, mercenary soldiers, spies, even amateurs sometimes”. She snorted in cold amusement. “I’ve lost count of how many people have tried to kill me or kidnap me since I was a child. Truth to be told, it’s a good plan. Weaponizing me or erasing me”, she commented with a shrug.

Bucky stared at her in silence. He wanted to say something, but he wasn’t sure of what he could say that didn’t sound stupid.

Exhaling, Y/N went on. “Anyway, I had learned how to lie low. I worked from home, no one knew my address... When I got home and Steve was waiting for me I broke his nose before he even got the chance to explain. God, I feel awful whenever I think about it”, she started snickering.

Bucky joined her, bemused at the idea. “Nah, don’t stress, doll. I’m sure the punk had it coming”.

When the finally stopped laughing, Bucky looked down at her in curiosity.

“Why was Steve looking for you? What was your study about?”

She locked her eyes into his. She hesitated as if she wasn’t sure whether to tell him or not.

In the end, she answered the question. “Mental reprogramming in PTSD cases. He thought I could help you”, she murmured, smiling softly at him.

She silently waited for his reaction. After a long moment, one short question left Bucky’s lips with this sort of quiet desperation.

“Can you?”

She slowly took his hands in hers, not bothering to discern flesh from metal. “I think I can. With a little help”, she replied with a mysterious smirk.


	3. Part 3

Y/N and Bucky were quietly chatting in the kitchen, sipping coffee. Since their first late night conversation, they spent a great amount of time together. During the day they didn’t see each other much, cause she spent most time locked in her room doing God knows what. But at night, when Bucky was left alone with his painful thoughts, she heard that soft knock on her door and smiled. They sat and talked for hours, about all sorts of things.

He was full of questions about what he’d missed in the past years. This new world he was living in felt unfamiliar and at the same time recognizable, Bucky just didn’t know how to keep up. So Y/N tried to explain as much as possible to him before the sun came up. Politics, cinema, literature, music… Bucky listened to her talking for hours, and never once he wished for her to stop. The corners of his mouth turned up whenever she became so passionate about something that she started to gesticulate wildly, or when her nose wrinkled whilst she tried to deal with the fact that he’d never listened to The Beatles. That was ‘HYDRA’s biggest fault’, as she had playfully called it shaking her head in disapproval.

When it was his turn to answer questions, her eyes sparked with curiosity. She asked him anything about life in the 40’s, about his friendship with Steve and all the adventures they had had together. After a couple days, she started asking about the war, about his life as the Winter Soldier, and about his nightmares. At first it had been hard for Bucky to answer her questions. He could barely open up to Steve about what he has been through, and he had known him for decades. Yet for some reasons, he simply couldn’t hide anything from Y/N.  

In less than a week, they had come to understand each other like one knows the back of his own hand. She had grown on him as an old habit, a little familiar detail that could immediately make him feel at home, wherever he was, whatever he was feeling.

The sudden fuss announced the arrival of the others. It was 7:30 in the morning, so Steve and Sam had just returned from their usual run. And oddly enough, the rest of the team was awake, too. When the large group entered the kitchen, most of them stopped dead in their tracks. Both Bucky and Y/N had been very discreet about their nocturnal encounters, and although it was clear that they got along, no one suspected how much close they actually were.

The reactions were different: Wanda and Vision simply glanced at the two in curiosity, Nat smirked noticing the look on Y/N’s face as she spoke with Bucky, and Steve- he smiled, looking fondly at his friend as he realized something. He had just caught a glimpse of the real Bucky, the one who was always at his side since they were little, the one who seemed to have disappeared forever. But there he was, drinking coffee with a beautiful woman, his flirtatious eyes darting from her eyes to her lips, a half smile that brightened up his face. Steve shook his head disbelievingly, still grinning. He had hoped that Y/N would’ve been able to help Bucky, but maybe- _maybe_ she wasn’t going to help him the way Steve had expected.

Then of course, there was Sam, whose surprised expression had been quickly replaced by a cunning smirk. He rushed towards the kitchen island where they were seated and threw himself on a stool, staring at them.

“Look _who_ ’s here. Are you two having _fun_ ?”, he mocked loudly, leaning on his elbows and wiggling his eyebrows at them. Y/N lazily turned to face him, already raising an eyebrow in annoyance. Sam’s smirk grew wider. “Remember ya lovebirds, no sex on the kitchen floor. It’s not very _hygienic_ ”, he laughed coarsely, earning a death glare from Bucky.

Y/N sighed. Sometimes she felt like she was dealing with some horny teenagers, instead of actual grownups. “You’re an idiot, Wilson, has anyone ever told you that?”

Then a mischievous expression appeared on her face, her eyes glinting. “ _And I like it better on the counter_ ”, she pointed out with a sensual voice, winking at Bucky.

“Gross!”, yelled Sam, the face of someone who had to swallow something disgusting.

The others cracked up, and eventually even Sam couldn’t resist at her teasing.

Distracted by all the noise, Y/N failed to notice the clenching of Bucky’s jaw, as he struggled not to imagine how would it felt to press her warm body against the cold marble and take her, making her his.

When the room became quiet once again, despite the smiles still hovering on everybody’s faces, Y/N stood up. “Breakfast, everyone?”, she asked the bunch.

There were some nods of agreement. Nat’s expression sparked with childish joy as she spoke. “Yes, please. Can you make pancakes?”, she pleaded.

“Oh, I _love_ your pancakes, Y/N!”, approved Steve earnestly, showing off his best puppy face.

Y/N had to try hard not to chuckle. Even Sam didn’t seem much inclined to tease her, now.

“Hey, could you make the ones you’ve cooked last time? With the tiny marshmallows and the chocolate-”, he started.

She cut him out and wave her hands vaguely. “Yeah, yeah, you got it. It’s going to take a while, just sit and wait”, she suggested, making her way to the kitchen pantry.

When she opened it, however, she found that all the ingredients had been moved on the higher shelves, leaving nothing within her reach. “For real, guys? You’ve got to be kidding me! Who was it? Is this supposed to be funny?”, she protested raising her arms, and then angrily letting them fall down at her sides.

Sam put all his efforts in an attempt to remain serious, but Y/N stared at him perfectly aware of his guilt. She closed her eyes for a moment, probably gaining the strength not to kill him on the spot. Bucky grinned, hoping that she would at least hit the winged idiot.

Steve grunted in amusement and reached for the ingredients, putting them on the countertop for Y/N. “Here you go, ma’am”, he said with a smile.

“ _Thank you_ ”, she hissed through gritted teeth.

Then she started to make breakfast, not before muttering a clear “Luckily there are still gentlemen, in this place”, which made Sam giggle.

Suddenly, Y/N’s head turned. “Uh- James, are pancakes okay with you?”, she asked Bucky.

He flashed a small smile at her. “Sure thing, doll. Pancakes are perfect”. She nodded and resumed cooking.

“You’re staring”, remarked Steve smirking at his best friend.

And in all truth, he was right. Bucky’s eyes were glued on Y/N, and kept moving from the messy hair that hung on her back to the hem of her shorts. Any time she stretched to grab something, the soft fabric revealed more and more of her soft skin, making Bucky’s gaze go dark with lust.

The man rolled his eyes at the suggestive hint in Steve’s voice. “Shut up, punk”, he murmured sulkily. But he couldn’t prevent a tight-lips smile from showing.

Steve chuckled, raising his hands in sign of surrender. “No, it’s a good thing! I’m happy for you, bud. You two are a perfect match”.

Bucky shook his head, his mouth still curved into a smile. His tender gaze hadn’t left Y/N for a second. He breathed out violently, before turning to face Steve.

“Do you know how _long_ it’s been since someone has called me _James_?”, he whispered in wonder, frowning as if he couldn’t get past his own disbelief.

Steve puckered his lips, amused. “I thought you didn’t like being called James”, he teased.

Bucky shrugged. “I didn’t- I don’t!”, he tried to explain. His feelings were more confusing to himself than they were to Steve. After a few seconds, in which he struggled to find the words, he yielded, chuckling. “I don’t know, man… Maybe it’s not so bad, after all”.

Steve smiled broadly and gave him a brotherly pat on the back, as Y/N shouted that breakfast was ready.


	4. Part 4

“Am I _disturbing_ you, doll?”

Bucky was leaning on Y/N’s doorframe, a corner of his mouth lifted and a flirtatious look in his big blue eyes. Y/N rolled her eyes at his annoying _yet_ adorable gloating face and motioned him to enter.

“Come on in, Barnes”.

They put on that little show every night, it had become a sort of inside joke. Bucky threw himself on the nearest empty chair.

“You can’t sleep any more than me, can you?”, sighed Y/N.

“Honestly, I’m too afraid to even _try_ ”, he chuckled.

He inspected the room, shaking his head faintly. Her room seemed even more cluttered than usual.

Noticing his disapproving frown, she burst out laughing. “It really bugs you, doesn’t it? _God_ , you look like an angry homemaker”, she mocked him.

He grunted, his mouth twitching. “I just don’t understand how can you live in this mess!”, he exclaimed opening his arms dramatically, amused despite himself. He pointed at a pile of clothes, randomly thrown on the big desk. “Can I at least fold those, please?”, he begged.

“Be my guest”, she replied with a shrug, a smirk ghosting on her lips.

She observed him as he put her things in order. “We live in a chaotic world, James. You’d better get used to it”, she teased him.

He responded with a soft chortle, without meeting her gaze. “You know, just a few weeks ago I would’ve agreed. But I recently learned that one can always find a little peace”. He turned his head slightly to look her in the eyes, smiling.

She held his gaze, beaming. After a moment, he resumed his activity. As he cleared the desk, his gaze fell upon something that captured his attention. He dropped the dress he was folding and narrowed his eyes.

“What’s all this?”, he asked holding up something for Y/N to see. His voice was emotionless.

She squinted to see what was in Bucky’s hands.

A low “Oh…” left her lips when she recognized the red notebook with a star on it.

Bucky raised a brow, silently asking for answers. He wanted to know why she, of all people, had the book with all the information to control the Winter Soldier.

She nervously chewed on her bottom lip, trying to guess what was going on in his head. The fear that had briefly crossed Bucky’s face didn’t escape her. Her expression softened, and she started to explain in a murmur.

“T’Challa took it from Zemo and gave it to me so that I could study HYDRA’s methods- to help you… I needed to know anything I could. I’m sorry, I should’ve told you”, she apologized, looking away in shame.

Bucky relaxed at the explanation and immediately felt guilty. She had been trying to help him and he had attacked her like that, he thought bitterly. If he could, he would’ve punched himself in the face.

“It’s all right”, he reassured her in a sweet voice. “Is that why you’ve been locked in your bedroom for like, 20 hours a day, every day of this week?”. She nodded.

“I’ve been consulting with King T’Challa’s sister, Shuri, for the past few days. She’s in charge of Wakanda’s technological resources all by herself, she’s amazing. Together we elaborated a therapy for you. Of course, we would have better technology in Wakanda, but we agreed that a more familiar environment could help. And here we have Steve, who could be useful”, added Y/N while cracking a smile.

Bucky stayed silent for a moment, thinking. “So you’re still- do you still think it’s possible?”.

He spoke with his voice full of doubt and uncertainty, but there was a flash of hope in his eyes. This time, Y/N’s grin was wide.

She hinted at all the papers on her desk. “Well, _actually_ , I was just going through the last details tonight, but the therapy is ready and is guaranteed to succeed. I was going to talk you through it tomorrow, to be honest, but if you want we can anticipate”, she suggested.

Bucky studied her face carefully before his mouth turned into a smile.

He shook his head. “No. It can wait until tomorrow. _Thank you_ , Y/N.”

He wanted to add something, to tell her how truly grateful he was for her help. But as he struggled to find a way to express how he felt, her expression told him that there was no need for that.

She stood up and walked to him. Now there were only a few inches separating them. She put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently. He tensed up but didn’t react.

“I’m gonna take that stuff out of your head, James”, she whispered, staring up at him.

She didn’t say it like a promise or an attempt to console him. Instead, she had spoken as if it was a simple matter of fact. Bucky’s blue eyes lit up, and he gave Y/N a smug smile.

“That’s music to my ears, doll”, he breathed huskily.

Wanting to elude the intensity of the moment, she awkwardly looked at her feet, chuckling nervously. “Wanna watch a movie? I got popcorns”, she offered.

He snickered. He had begun to notice how nervous he made her sometimes, and he kinda enjoyed it. He loved the subtle flush in her cheeks and how her eyes darted around, and he loved, even more, the way she started to ramble and had to bit down her lip to stop herself.

“Yeah, why not”, he agreed with a shrug.

“What are we seeing?”.

She grabbed two DVDs and handed them to him. “I was thinking _E.T._ or _Jurassic Park_. You’re still horribly lacking when it comes to pop culture”, she rolled her eyes as she spoke.

He glanced at the options and smiled. “This one seems cool. I like dinosaurs, they’re like chubby grumpy lizards”.

She stared at him worriedly, and let out an overly dramatic sigh. “You’re a lost cause”, she muttered shaking her head. But she set up the movie and took the popcorn before turning off the lights and joining Bucky on the sofa.

They were halfway through the film when Y/N’s playful voice drew Bucky’s attention. “You know you’re not King Midas, right?”.

He gaped at her, confused. “What?”

She snorted at his expression. “You always sit ten feet away from me! Touching me won’t kill either of us”, she teased, pointing at the gap between their bodies.

This time it was Bucky’s round to turn red.

How could he tell her that no matter how much he wanted to touch her, he didn’t wanna do it with those hands? His old self might have been worthy of loving her. He would have taken her out for dinner, maybe for a movie, and he would’ve never let go of her hand during the whole date. Yes, the old Bucky would’ve carried her home, walking her to the doorstep with their fingers still intertwined, and he would’ve kissed her goodnight without hesitation. But it wasn’t 1942, and he wasn’t that Bucky anymore. His were the hands of a murderer. Something about the mere idea of touching her made him shiver with terror.

“I’m sorry, I’m just…”

“ _Afraid_ of women?”, she cut him out teasingly with a small laugh.

He rolled his eyes, throwing popcorn at her. “Oh, shut up, doll!”

But his lips were curled, betraying his amusement. She slid on the sofa, moving closer to him. She lifted his left arm (the metal one) and slipped under it, leaving it around her shoulders while she cuddled against Bucky’s chest. She could feel all his muscles tensing under her tender touch.

“Does this feel so _terrible_ , James?”, she chuckled.

He let out a short sigh, and slightly tightened his grip on her. “Not even remotely”, he murmured, giving her a peck on her hair.

She clung on to the fabric of his t-shirt and slowly raised her head to meet his gaze. Their faces were so close, he could have counted her lashes one by one. For a split she remained still, holding her breath and glancing at his perfectly shaped lips.

Bucky knew he wouldn’t have been able to restrain himself if she had decided to kiss him. So, with the biggest effort he ever had to make, he looked away, swallowing the pain that was hitting him. He couldn’t do this to her, not in his state. When he would have become able to trust his own mind, he could have considered asking her out. Until then, he simply couldn’t. His arm slipped away from her shoulder.

Y/N cleared her throat and put some distance between her and Bucky. He inhaled sharply at the feeling of absolute heartache that struck when he saw her avoiding his eyes.

“Anyway, you should rest. Tomorrow will be exhausting”, she said with embarrassment.

He tried to joke, pointing at his cheek and saying “Don’t I get a good night kiss for good luck?”. He realized at that moment that it was an awful choice of words, he had spoken without thinking. He just wanted to make her smile.

Luckily, she laughed and look at him in the eyes. “No, but you do get something better. My  _super_ comfy sofa”.

At his puzzled expression, she chuckled and got up from the sofa. “You can sleep here, for tonight. I’ll make sure you’re resting and wake you up if you have any nightmares. I have to finish checking a few things before tomorrow, anyway”.

He looked at her with both gratitude and guilt. No matter how much he could hurt her, she would have still taken care of him.

“Goodnight, then”, he said.

“Goodnight, James”, she replied with a faint smile.


	5. Part 5

It was past 8AM when Bucky’s eyes opened. Once he could focus, he saw Y/N smiling brightly at him from a chair, a book in her hands. “Morning, _sunshine_. Ready for the big day?”, she greeted him. He got up and stretched. He hadn’t slept for that long for a very long time. Sure, five hours weren’t many, but they were enough to make him feel rested. He smiled at her, grabbing the cup of coffee she was now handing him and running a hand through his hair. “Never been more ready, doll. When do we start?”. She stood up as well. “Immediately. Follow me”.

When they walked into the living room together, Sam’s eyes widened as he grinned. “Oh hoooo… Look at _that_ ! Was _sleeping together_ some kind of preparation for his therapy? Cause if it was, then I want in, Y/L/N”. She shook her head. “I’m not even replying to that, Wilson. Just- _try_ not to lower the IQ of the whole facility while you speak, okay?”. At her snarky remark, Bucky guffawed, holding his chest. Sam scoffed, bemused despite himself.

Y/N guided Bucky towards the laboratory and the others followed them. “Did Tony give you permission to use his lab?”, asked Wanda, concerned. Tony had left the very day of their return to the Facility, together with Clint (who had gone back home to stay with his family). Relieving Y/N from her embarrassment,  Steve was the one to reply. “Tony has decided to remain in his Malibu residence. We don’t know when he’ll come back”. Y/N looked away. Despite everything, she felt a bit guilty about forcing Tony to let Bucky stay there. She could imagine how painful must have been, having the man who’d technically killed his parents living under his roof, and his friends siding with Bucky instead of with him. But Bucky wasn’t the Winter Soldier, and she would’ve done anything in her power to help him. She could have apologized to Tony later.

After a brief awkward silence, Bucky smiled nervously at Y/N. “Okay, so what’s now?”. She smirked, grabbing a tablet. “Now, we bring in the big guns. Hi, Shuri!”, she greeted when a bright face appeared on the screen. With a swift touch, the image was projected and a young woman was now staring at the group, grinning. “Hi, girl!! So good to see you again”, she chirped looking back at Y/N. The two high-fived virtually. Then she gazed at Bucky. “Morning, Sergeant Barnes”. He nodded towards her. “Bucky”, he politely corrected her, earning a curious glance from Y/N.

The two women exchanged another look, then Y/N started to explain, her eyes locked in Bucky’s ones. “So, your therapy will be articulated in two phases. I must tell you, it’s not going to be easy”, she warned him. He simply nodded in response. “This is not just removing a mental programming since we can’t wipe your mind clear without risking losing you. Thanks to Shuri’s genius, however-”, Shuri gave her a smug smile, “-we can deal with the part of HYDRA’s programming related to your trigger words. _Which is_ , the majority of it”. Steve’s eyes lit up at Y/N’s words.

She continued. “And once we do that, I can make sure that those trigger words gain a new meaning for you. One that doesn’t turn you into a psycho killer”, she chuckled. Bucky rolled his eyes in mock annoyance. “Shuri, please explain”, Y/N gave the floor to her friend. Shuri clapped her hands before speaking in a cheerful voice.

“All right. With the help of my girl here, I’ve been running an adaptive algorithm that will organically ‘flush’ your mind of the trigger word programming. It is _somewhat_ similar to some of the core code used by Tony Stark and Doctor Banner to create Ultron. Except, mine is way better because I’m smarter”. Y/N snickered at the statement.

Shuri stared at Bucky. “Of course, once you’ve basically been rebooted, we’re left with the possibility of dealing with other forms of emotional trauma. That’s why Doctor Y/L/N’s work is so essential”. Those last words caused Y/N to groan. “ _Please_ , don’t ever call me ‘doctor’ again”, begged Y/N with a shiver. Shuri laughed sneeringly.

“Well, I’ve already helped you enough, snowflake. Now I’ll leave you to it”. Y/N smiled at Shuri, but couldn’t help but look concerned. Shuri seemed to notice it, cause she smiled tenderly at her. “We’ve been preparing for this for almost two weeks. You got this in the bag, girl”. “Thanks, Shuri. Love you”. Shuri waved at the rest of the group. “See ya, colonizers!”. The projection disappeared. 

Y/N inhaled deeply before speaking to Bucky. “James, now I’m going to take your arm off. Cause if anything goes wrong I’d rather take a hit from the softer one, you know”, she joked. But instead of laughing, Bucky clenched his jaw. “Are you going to be in danger?”, he growled, paling as fear crossed his face. Y/N put a hand on his arm, squeezing it gently. “Steve will stay here just in case, but you don’t have to worry about me. Superhuman healing factor, remember?”. His face relaxed into a smile, though he still looked pallid.

She glanced at Sam, Nat, Wanda, and Vision. “The rest of you guys, I humbly ask you to get out of my way. Shoo”, she said motioning for them to go away. They frowned but obeyed. While the door was closing behind them, Y/N heard Sam saying “Did she just _shooed us_?”, which made her giggle. She turned to the two super soldiers, the corner of her mouth turned up. “Let’s begin”.

********* 

“How are you feeling, today?”, asked Y/N as she checked Bucky’s heart rate and BP. He was sitting on the lab’s table, wearing only his tight black trousers and a white undershirt. One of her hands was resting on his stump, her thumb gently stroking the scar tissue. He smiled, looking down at her. “Better. I’ve never felt more myself than I do now in the past 70 years, to be honest”.

A whole month had passed since the beginning of the treatment, and the progress was undeniable. The nightmares had decreased, in fact, they had almost gone. Bucky was now able to remain in control when his trigger words were spoken. Of course, being in control was a bit of an overstatement. He could prevent himself from following the orders and fully becoming the Winter Soldier, which was an amazing result alone. But he still reacted violently at the code and struggled to calm down without having to hurt himself. Other than that, though, Shuri’s algorithm was a success and Y/N had been able to use it perfectly. 

Y/N gave Bucky a half-smile. “Good. Cause I think you’re ready for phase two”. He stared back at her in surprise. “Already? Are you sure?”. She shrugged. “I see no point in waiting, you’re doing much better now. I sent reports and data to Shuri and she agrees”. He bit down his bottom lip. She sighed, knowing how nervous he was. 

“James, you’re ready. Trust me. Plus, this is going to be a much better part of the job. No more crazy machines nor algorithm nor cryogenics. Just you and I chatting. If anything, it’ll be boring”, she laughed. Bucky felt a familiar fire pooling low in his stomach. Her feather-like laughter drove him crazy every time. 

In the heat of the moment, he grabbed her wrist Her eyes went round for a second, but she remained quiet. He placed a delicate kiss on the back of her hand and smirked. “I can never be bored as long as I’m with you, doll”, he murmured seductively, before giving her a playful wink. She sarcastically cocked an eyebrow at him, her curved lips betraying her own amusement. She broke free from his gentle grasp and turned to put away the stethoscope, glad that he couldn’t see how flustered she was. 

She had been with many people, and no one had ever gotten even close to making her blush. Mostly she chose people who clearly didn’t care about her so that she wouldn’t feel guilty when she used them and never see them again. It was easier that way. So many faces, and yet, no one she could distinctly remember. But with Bucky, all she’d ever believed about herself proved to be wrong. He made her want to wake up and see the same familiar face all over again, every morning of her life. _His_ face. Those feelings confused her and pleased her at the same time.

Lost in her thoughts, she had missed the loving expression which filled Bucky’s starry eyes anytime he looked at her.

The day after, the two were in the garden of the facility. Bucky’s forehead creased. “What are we doing here, _exactly_? I thought we were going to begin the second part of my treatment”. Y/N chortled. “We are. But it was sunny outside and I guessed you would have preferred doing this _here_ ”. They were sitting under a big tree, with their hair dancing in the warm breeze. Bucky leaned back against the bark of the tree and inhaled the fresh air. Then he smiled at Y/N, who was seated in front of him with her legs crossed. “Good guess, doll”.

She distractedly licked her lip, almost causing him to groan, before speaking. “All right, this is what we’re gonna do. We’ll go through the list of your trigger words, one by one. Every time I say one of the words, you have to focus on something that reminds you of yourself. It can be related to your past, or to your own perception of what makes Bucky Barnes himself. Or again, it can be something that simply makes you happy. Anything that has a meaning will be fine, as long as you avoid all the memories regarding HYDRA”. She paused to look in his eyes. “Can you do that?”. 

He was about to nod but then changed his mind. “Is it safe for you to be here  _alone_ with me? Can’t we call Steve? You know I can’t always stay in control…”, he begged in terror, the image of himself hurting her stuck in his mind. But Y/N rolled her eyes and shook her head firmly. “No way. I need you to focus, Steve would be a distraction. Also, stop talking as if you could kill me or something, it’s offensive. I’d totally kick your butt before you could even land a hit”. That made him laugh, and he finally nodded.

So they started. Staring at him, she recited the words.

“Желание”. _Longing_. The first one was the easiest. Bucky thought about his parents. He relaxed, lost in the memory of one of his birthday parties, the smell of his mother’s apple pie in the air.

“Ржавый”. _Rusted_. He inhaled sharply. He remembered his school years, the feeling of being free from all worries.

“Семнадцать”. _Seventeen_. Bucky’s jaw tightened. He thought Steve, about that time when they’d been to Coney Island beach and eaten half a dozen hot-dogs.

“Рассвет”. _Daybreak_. His breaths became faster, as he started to sweat. He clung to the memories of the last month. He thought about Y/N. Somehow, he managed to remain focused.

“Печь”. _Furnace_. Bucky thought about all the people he could’ve helped. He just needed to stay in control. He bit down the inside of his cheek, feeling the metallic taste of blood.

“Девять”. _Nine_. This time, he wasn’t able to think about something specific. Blurry images danced in his mind. He saw many faces, he could even identify some of them. He saw the Howling Commandos. Steve. Howard Stark. Y/N. He exhaled fiercely.

“Доброкачественный”. _Benign_. It was too much. Bucky clenched his fist, digging his nails into the palm, trying to fight the panic he was feeling. He would have screamed, but his voice just didn’t come out. ‘Benign’... what could be benign about that whole situation?

Suddenly, Y/N lips were pressed against his and her hands were cupping his cheeks. His eyes squeezed shut, as his heartbeat slowed down. He grabbed her by her waist, pulling her closer. He slid his tongue into her mouth, while his one calloused hand ran frantically along her body. He thought again about that word, _benign_. If that could apply to anything about him, it would’ve been Y/N.

Her fingers found his hair and started running through it, softly pulling it as their kisses became more desperate. She moaned into his mouth when he dug his fingers into her hips. He embraced her even tighter, his mouth making its way to her neck, where he left a trail of hot, open-mouthed kisses. She caught his lips once again, nipping his lower lips and then kissing him hard. Their kisses were all teeth and heavy breaths, nothing sweet in the rough movements of their mouths. And yet, they were so exquisitely romantic, in their own intense and dark way.

After a while, they stopped to catch their breath. Stroking her cheek with his thumb, Bucky rested his forehead against Y/N’s. The two started to laugh. At first a soft chuckle, but then it became a loud, heartfelt laugh. “You can’t possibly understand just _how much_ I wanted to do this, doll”, he rasped. Y/N shrugged, grinning mischievously. “Well, it’s not like I had thought about this before. But you were struggling to find something for your seventh word, so I took pity on you”.

“Is that so?”, he asked smugly. “Then I guess you won’t mind If I do this…”. He lifted her chin and placed his lips on her jugular. He kissed his way up her jaw, making her shudder. She rolled her eyes at him. “Don’t look so cocky, Soldier”. He chuckled, looking at her in pure adoration as if she was the most precious thing in the whole universe, his _benign_ Heaven fallen on this Earth.

They stayed like that for a bit, just listening to each other’s heartbeats and clinging on one another. Then Y/N sighed. “We should go back to work. You didn’t reach the end of the list, we still have 3 words left to tackle”. Bucky smiled. He was positive that the second try would’ve worked. “If I make it to the end, you’ll go out with me”. She stared back at him, then grinned broadly. “You’ve got yourself a deal, James”.


	6. Part 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: this chapter is NSFW!

“I need help”, announced Bucky as he entered the living room, not without previously having checked that Sam wasn’t there. There were only Steve, Natasha, and Wanda in the room. They all raised their heads at his arrival, staring at him in curiosity. Meeting Steve’s expectant eyes, Bucky explained. “I’m going on a date with Y/N. Tonight”. Nat smirked, and Wanda let out an excited shriek. Steve blinked a couple times, shocked, but then smiled brightly at his best friend. “That’s great, buddy! But when- I mean, how did this happen?”.

Bucky snickered, seeing how confused Steve looked. “Yesterday, during my therapy- I kinda asked her out”, he confided, slightly opening his arms as if he himself wasn’t sure of how it could’ve happened. His friend stared at him for a bit. They had known each other for years, he was able to know what Bucky was thinking with just one look at him. Eventually, he nodded in approval. “I’m proud of you, Buck”. He knew that Bucky would never have made anything to put Y/N in danger. If he had finally confessed his feelings, he must have been sure to be better. Maybe not perfectly fine, but better. Bucky smiled in turn. “Thanks, Steve”.

Steve leaned back in his chair and cleared his throat. He looked slightly embarrassed. “So, uh, what do you need help for? I'm guessing it’s not restaurant advice since we can’t leave the compound”. His forehead furrowed, and he gave Bucky a warning look. He was clearly worried about his eventual escape. Bucky snorted, amused. 

“No, but actually that’s the point. I don’t have many options, being confined, and I want tonight to be perfect”, he sighed. Nat stepped in. “Well, you better find a way to make it happen because she’s very excited about this date”. Her eyebrows were dangerously close, even her smile seemed threatening. After a moment, Bucky realized something, and he wasn’t the only one. “Wait, you knew about this?!”, Steve exclaimed.

Nat shrugged. “Women often shares secrets”. Her eyes narrowed at Steve’s sarcastic expression. “ _Don’t_. Just don’t say anything”, she menaced pointing a finger at him, making him chortle.

“Anyway-”, Steve’s gaze returned to his friend, “Buck, I saw you going on dates with like, _hundreds_ of girls. And you’ve never felt the need to ask for advice! What’s gotten into you, are you scared to have lost your magic touch with the ladies?”, he teased. Bucky laughed at his jest. “I dunno, man”, he simply said, shaking his head. “There was no girl like her back then. There still isn’t”.

Steve took a moment to admire the loving expression on Bucky’s face. He couldn’t be happier to see him this content after all that time. He smiled. “Ain’t that the truth. Although I have to say, I’m a bit surprised you came to me. It’s not like I have much experience with romantic dates”. Bucky bit down his lips, an amused glint in his eyes. He gave Steve a sort of apologetic look. “No, _you_ don’t. That’s why I wasn’t asking you”. And with that, Bucky turned to Nat, whose smirk became wider.

***************

 

“Don’t make a big deal out of it, but I need to find a dress for tonight”, sighed Y/N ten minutes later, gracelessly throwing herself on the sofa. Steve glanced at her, then resumed his reading. “Guess I’m sitting this one out, too”, he muttered with a pout. Y/N frowned. She was about to ask him about it, but someone grabbed her by the arm. 

“FINALLY, I’ll get to see you in a skirt! I’ve been waiting for this _long enough_ ”, chimed Wanda. “Come with me, I have _many_ dresses you must try on. I’m sure you’ll look stunning”, she giggled. While she was being frogmarched towards Wanda’s room, Y/N managed to gave Steve an imploring glance. “Steve, a little help here? I’m being kidnapped”, she begged, but he replied with a sarcastic expression. “Sorry Y/N, apparently I’m not _experienced_ enough to help you”. She scoffed at his nonsense and then sighed, letting Wanda drag her away. 

Later, on her way back to her room, Y/N bumped into someone and almost lost her balance. “Hey”, she said in surprise when she recognized Bucky. He smiled down at her, his fingers lingering on her waist. “Hi, doll. Ready for tonight?”. His voice was deeper than usual, and there was a sweet raspiness in it that made her hot blood roar in her ears. She gave a rather nervous chuckle. “I am. I even found a dress,  which is a first, so you better surprise me”, she joked. He stroked her cheek, his eyes gleaming mischievously. “I’ll try my best. Meet me in the hall at 7?”. She gave him a smug smile. “I’ll be the one with the dress”. Bucky sniggered, following her with his gaze as she walked away. 

************************

 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you wait! I got distracted”, Y/N rushed to apologize as she entered the hall five minutes late. Everybody was there. All the heads twitched towards her, and their jaws dropped. No one had ever seen Y/N wearing a dress, she was the jeans and t-shirt type of person. Once she had even attended one of Tony’s parties wearing a tracksuit (although that was a hundred percent intentional and intended to annoy him). Now she was wearing a simple yet elegant pale silver dress and high heels. The thin fabric swung as she walked. Her hair fell perfectly down her back, loose in curls. There was something _vintage_ in her appearance.

Steve was the first to react. “Wow”, he commented with a smile. Even Sam couldn’t find anything stupid to say. “ _Damn_ , Y/L/N”, he commented raising his brows. Vision was still unaccustomed to human conventions, but smiled and stated: “You are lovely, Y/N”. Wanda grinned, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “I chose the dress”, she whispered to Nat. The woman smirked at Y/N, giving her a ‘way-to-go’ kinda look. Y/N winked in response, before turning to meet Bucky’s gaze. He had been staring at her since her arrival, with his eyes popping out. When her eyes locked in his, his whole face lit up.

“You look- _breathtaking_ ”, he marveled. She chuckled, rolling her eyes. “Why are you _all_ so surprised?”. Then she glanced at his outfit. He was wearing a white shirt and black jeans, and a brown leather jacket (Steve’s jacket) hung by his arm. A strand of his dark hair had casually fallen over his eyes. He looked effortlessly elegant. Y/N took the arm he was offering, with a flirtatious smile on her lips. “You’re quite handsome yourself, James”. Sam shook his head, muttering “I’m going to throw up” and earning an elbow from Wanda.

Without taking his eyes off of Y/N, Bucky opened the door. “Let’s go, doll”. As they were leaving, they heard Steve amused voice shouting “You kids have a great night!”, and they laughed, waving their hands at him. Bucky guided her towards the eastern part of the property. “So, where are we going? I thought we couldn’t leave the facility”, she asked glancing up at him in curiosity. He replied with a smirk and murmured into her ear “We don’t have to”. She quivered in pleasure at the feeling of his warm breath tickling her skin and tightened her grip on his strong forearm.

When they left the walkway, she understood where they were headed. The big tree where they had kissed the day before. Only now there was a large blanket spread under it, and dozens of candles and flowers all around. Awe transformed Y/N’s face. It was a wonderful picnic just for the two of them. Bucky had really outdone himself.

“Thank you”, she said as he helped to sit down. She stared at him in amazement, her mouth slightly opened but curved into a grin. “I can’t believe you’ve prepared all this”, she breathed eventually as she noticed that he was looking at her expectantly, waiting for her reaction. He laughed. “You said you wanted to be surprised”. She shook her head, amused. “Consider me surprised!”, she chuckled. Then she grabbed his metal hand. “But- seriously James… This is _perfect_ ”, she whispered sweetly.

He opened the picnic basket, pulling out a bottle of red wine and two dozen donuts. Y/N cackled, and Bucky couldn’t help but join her. He then explained he’d asked Nat to help him set that up. He wanted to cook Y/N favorite course for her, but when he’d asked Nat what that was, she’d simply replied “Donuts”. So he went and ordered one of each flavor. “I couldn’t have asked for anything better. Donuts are perfect”, she approved with a laugh. They started talking about this and that, and soon an hour had passed and half the doughnuts were gone.

“I have to say, this color suits you. And I love your hair like that”, he complimented her once again in a husky voice, flashing her a seductive smile. She chuckled at his smug face. “Thanks”. She had spent an hour in Wanda’s room, trying to find the perfect dress. She wanted to look beautiful, but she would’ve felt uncomfortable wearing something lavish. The silver dress was plain, but it looked amazing nevertheless. And with the right hairstyle, it had a 1940s vibe that she thought Bucky could appreciate. Maybe it would have made him feel at home, even just for a moment.

Smiling at him, she added, “I thought silver would’ve looked nice with your arm”. She gestured at his metallic hand. At her words, something in his expression hardened. “ _James_ ”, she sighed. She was scared this would have happened. “Why did you asked me on a date?”, she inquired, and there was a trace of exasperation in her voice. He stared at her in confusion, furrowing his brows. She looked away for a moment, then gazed at him. “I mean, why now? I’ve been trying to understand why since yesterday and I feel like I’ll go  _crazy_ if I don’t get an answer”, she blurted.

“Doll”, mumbled Bucky caught off guard. “I like you, I thought I’d made that clear yesterday-”. She immediately cut him short, shaking her head. “No, I know you do, I didn’t mean that”. She paused for a moment, looking exhausted all of a sudden. “A month ago, when we were watching that movie and, er, I was about to kiss you… you backed out. And I know why you did that, I know you still think you have to protect me from yourself. So _what_ ’s changed?”.

Bucky avoided her eyes. He was studying his own hands, his jaw clenched. Eventually, he let out a murmur. “I can’t…”. Y/N glanced up to the sky, fighting back the angry tears that filled her eyes. “James, _please_. Talk to m-”, she started to beg, but he interrupted her forcefully. “Dammit Y/N, I can’t see you every day and do nothing!”, he almost shouted, his eyes wide with desperation. He breathed through his gritted teeth, in an attempt to calm down.

“I thought that maybe if I could heal, things could’ve been different, we could’ve been something more than friends. Once I wasn’t a threat anymore, you know. But I still am, and I know that. I know that I don’t deserve you, that the old Bucky Barnes would have barely deserved you, so I tell myself: I should stay away from her”. Bucky gave a hollow laugh before continuing. “But I can’t, and it’s killing me. Here I am, hardly in control, but still deeply and in love with you. You wanted to know what changed? Nothing. I just reached my limit”, he whispered wearily.

She couldn’t stop gaping at him. “James…”, she whispered after a while. He gave a sad smile. “I know. Worst thing to say to a girl on the first date. I guess I really have lost my touch”, he chuckled to himself. She rolled her eyes. “Oh, shut up”, she replied sharply. He raised an eyebrow, but she leaned towards him and threw her arms around his neck with a playful smirk. “I love you too, _Bucky Barnes_ ”, she purred. She saw his pupils dilating, and a subtle crease appeared on his forehead as his brows snapped together. Despite that, he was smiling.

“You never call me Bucky”, he observed teasingly, catching her by the waist and pulling her closer. She shrugged. “You seem to like it more. You always correct people when they call you in any other way. Except for me. What’s up with that?”, she inquired, curious. He thought about it for a moment, recalling a conversation he had had with Steve in that regard. “I like the way you say James”, he simply stated, kissing her nose. The corners of her mouth turned up. “Glad you do, _James_. I like saying it”.

Bucky moved a rebel strand of hair from her face. “Do you really love me?”. His voice sounded hoarse and tender at the same time, and Y/N found herself distractedly wondering how that might be possible. She placed a finger against his lips, and he kissed it before starting nibbling it gently. “Mmmh… I do, I am _completely_ and _undeniably_ in love with you”, she stated in a singsong voice. “A _horrible_ decision, really”, he growled, but his whole face was glowing. She snickered. “I know, I know. Mama never taught me to stay away from boys like you”. She was getting closer and closer.

He took a deep breath, inhaling her very same air. “Good for me, then”, he murmured before meeting her warm lips. Their mouths were moving in sync. Slowly, deeply, hungrily. Bucky’s tongue slid inside her mouth, exploring it and tasting the sweetness of the remaining traces of sugar. Y/N was now in Bucky’s lap, her legs hooked around him. He abruptly ended that pleasant torment when he felt her fingers on his bare chest, as she unbuttoned his shirt. He looked at her for a moment. Uncertainty filled his lustful eyes. In all response she pressed her lips against his, this time softly, smiling in the meantime. 

Encouraged, he brought his hands on her lower back and started leaving small bites over her neck and down her collarbones. Her soft moans soon became his favorite sound, and he would’ve done anything to heard more of them. She began grinding against his crotch, and the friction sent shivers of ecstasy down his spine, making him hard. She gasped as soon as he shoved his hands under her dress, hiking it up to grab her rear and squeeze it. He groaned when her nails dug into his flesh. “ _Jesus,_ doll”, he grunted heatedly, burying his head in the crook of her neck, leaving lovebites here and there. 

She chuckled and stopped for a brief moment to remove his shirt and toss it aside. She splayed her hands across his chest, feeling his muscles under her fingertips, caressing the scars where his prosthetic arm met his shoulder. Her eyes blazed like scarlet coals, warm and reassuring but dangerous at the same time. Boring his eyes into her, Bucky unzipped her dress and lifted it over her head, getting rid of it. She quickly took off her lace bra, needing for him to see her. He took a long moment to admire her. She truly was a heaven-sent creature.

His fingers ghosted over her naked skin, tracing the profile of her breasts. His touch gave her goosebumps but she smiled, throwing her head back in pleasure, her eyes shut. Bucky sighed, mesmerized by the splendor of the view. “Say it again”, he demanded whilst leaving several kisses on her chest. She opened her eyes, glancing at him in confusion. “Say you love me”, he pleaded again with a guttural voice. She smirked and pushed him so that he was now laying back on the blanket. “I love you, James”, she murmured languidly as she unbuttoned his jeans. Doubt crossed her face for a moment and she stopped, chewing her lower lip. “Do you think Tony had installed cameras out here, too?”, she asked. “If he has, I’m afraid he’s up for a big show”, Bucky rasped, sitting and burying his face in her hair. She laughed, pushing him back with a playful smirk.

She quickly got rid of the rest of their clothes and straddled him. His eyes had never left her, but he wasn’t looking at her with impatience. His expression was filled with reverence and absolute trust. Her every movement was calculated, nothing too rushed or too hesitant. She treated him like he was something precious, innocent, and he was almost starting to believe her. And _God_ , she was so dazzling under the light of the stars and those cheap scented candles.

His rough hands gently rested on her hips, shifting her towards his hardness. She didn’t lose time teasing him, they both could wait any longer. With a swift motion, she sank down onto him. As his length disappeared into Y/N’s body and her wet walls clenched around his cock, Bucky felt hazy and intoxicated. She let him fill her, flesh into flesh, and a blissful expression dawned on her face. Once she adjusted to his size, she started moving sinuously. At first painfully slowly, but soon she found a steady pace.

He continued to stare at her, caressing her thighs and feeling her working muscles as she rode him passionately. Shock waves vibrated through his body every time she pulled her hips down harder or she bit down a moan. She couldn’t help but gradually losing the rhythm, while her climax approached. The newly gained frenzy in her gaze and the sinful glint in her eyes made Bucky’s vision fade to black. He brusquely got seated, tightening his grip on her. The thin sheens of sweat that coated the both of them mixed. Y/N arched her back, and Bucky held her as her eyes rolled back in ecstasy. Seeing her like that provoked something in Bucky’s mind.

He kissed her fiercely, only his pure animalistic instinct to guide him. He felt her pulse whilst inside her, and grunted. Everything cut to white noise as they reached their climaxes almost at the same time, her clinging on to him and him biting down her shoulder, tasting the saltiness of her skin. He came inside her, his cock twitching as he released his hot semen. Bucky’s breath was erratic, but he smiled tenderly as he embraced Y/N’s quivering body and pulled near. She rested her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat as she waited for the molten lava she felt in her veins to cool down.

Bucky gave her a quick kiss on the head, making her grin. She raised her head to face him and she left a peck on the corner of his mouth, right where his smile began. Their lips brushed together one last time before he helped her get dressed. They laid down, cuddled. “I love you, Y/N”. She smirked. “I like the way you say Y/N”. He chuckled, hearing his own words echoed back to him. “Even so, you’ll always be my doll”. She stayed silent for a moment. “Yeah, I think I can roll with that… since you’re my soldier”. They remained there, gazing at the vast night sky even when their eyes were already filled with one another.


	7. Part 7

Bucky entered the training room early. His date with Y/N had lasted more than expected. He had accompanied her to her room when it was almost dawn, and she was currently sleeping, so he had decided to work out a little. However, he was not expecting to find Steve there. He cocked an eyebrow at his friend. “No morning jog with Birdie?”. Steve chuckled, grabbing a punching bag. “Not today. How did the date go”. Bucky didn’t answer, instead, he gave him a broad grin, his whole face lighting up. Steve's eyes twinkled at the reaction. “That well, huh?”.

Bucky smirked. “Better”, he murmured, scratching his back absent-mindedly. “But now I’m not sure of how should I act… I don’t even know what we are, to be honest”, he admitted to Steve. Steve put a hand on his shoulder. “I guess you’ll find out as soon as she wakes up”. This made Bucky laugh heartily. By now, they both knew Y/N was one to always speak her mind. That morning they trained together, side by side, as they hadn’t done in a long time.

*****************

“Good mornin’, sleepyhead! Did you have sweet dreams?”, greeted Nat as Y/N walked into the kitchen. Everyone was there already, eating breakfast. Y/N hummed in response. Her hair was messy, a clear sign that she had just woken up. She went and filled herself a plate with bacon and eggs. Whilst she was pouring some coffee, Sam snorted. “Someone’s hungry. I take it you two didn’t actually eat food last night, did you?”, he sneered.

She gave him a death glare, but Bucky addressed her with a sigh. “Don’t mind them, I had to put up with their stupid jokes for the past two hours”. She rolled her eyes. “Idiots”, she managed to grumble. This shut them up, but not because of what she’d said. They had all realized that it was the first time they were awake before her and they had never seen her like this. Apparently, she wasn’t very talkative first thing in the morning, and she seemed quite hostile. They stared at her in amusement, as she went and sat in Bucky’s lap (although there were several available chairs). For a moment he was a bit taken aback, but then smiled and wrapped his arms around her, leaving a small kiss on her shoulder while she started to eat with a half smile.

Of course, as soon as the others had gotten over the shock of the grumpy morning version of Y/N, she couldn’t avoid their endless teasing about her and Bucky. However, none of the two seemed to care much and they both couldn’t stop grinning.

The lively atmosphere in the compound and the loud chatter was soon interrupted by F.R.I.D.A.Y. announcing the arrival of an authorized vehicle. The whole group tensed up, looking at the door expectantly. But surprise crossed everyone’s face when one single person entered the hall. “Tony?”. Steve’s voice sounded incredulous. Tony lifted an eyebrow. “You all seem quite surprised to see me, given that this is my property”. They all exchanged glances, then Natasha spoke. “Sorry, it’s just… we haven’t seen you in a while”. The man avoided her gaze.

“Yeah, been busy. Don’t mind me, I only came here to pick up a few things from the laboratory then I’ll be on my way”, he stated sharply, already heading towards the lab. “Do you need any help?”, asked Steve politely. Tony stopped dead in his track for a moment. Without even turning to face him, he murmured: “I think you’ve done enough for one lifetime”. Steve sighed. “Tone, can we talk about it?”.

Tony’s head snapped back so briskly that Y/N almost expected to hear a crack. “I don’t have anything to say to you”. He stared at Bucky with hatred. “Still here, I see”. Bucky clenched his jaw, but one could clearly see the guilt and the pain in his eyes. “I’m sorry”, he whispered, his eyes locked in Tony’s. “I know apologies are useless, but for what is worth, I really am sorry. Your parents were good people, and your father was my friend. I’m sorry”. Seeing Bucky like that, so helpless and broken, was terrible for everyone. But what was worse was seeing Tony’s reaction.

He glared at him for a moment, before speaking in a cold voice. “You’re right. Apologies are useless”. Then he turned on his heels and left the room. Steve was the first to move. “I’ll go talk to him”. “No”. Bucky’s whisper was so low they barely heard him. Y/N met his eyes, and he gave her an apologized look. “I need to leave. I’ve stayed here long enough”. “Buck-”, Steve started to say, but his friend cut him out. “Steve, I murdered his parents. It doesn’t matter that I was controlled by HYDRA, I did that. We’ve been ignoring it for over a month, but me staying in his house is disgusting and he doesn’t deserve it”.

Steve was at loss for words. He kept staring at Bucky with desperation and fear in his eyes. He couldn’t lose him now that he’d found him, he was his best friend and he would’ve been with him till the end of the line. “You’re not going anywhere”. This time Y/N had spoken. She peered at Bucky’s expression. He was about to reply, but she shook her head. “James, don’t give me this crap. You’re a good man, Tony needs to see that. I’m not letting you leave. And I’m gonna have a chat with him”. With that, she marched towards the lab.

When she entered the room, Tony was turned with his back toward her so he assumed she was Steve. “I’ve already said I don’t wanna talk, Cap”. “Yes, but you’re at least going to listen”. He turned at the sound of her voice and stared at her for a moment, before throwing himself on a chair. She went and sat next to him. “Tone, he’s not a killer. He’s not what HYDRA meant him to be, he’s been a pawn in their games for decades but now he’s not. He’s getting better, and I-”. Her sentence trailed off as her eyes filled with tears. “Tony, please…”, she begged in a pained murmur.

Tony shook his head, exhaling sharply. “I’m sorry, I’m not like you, Y/N. I don’t forgive and forget. And I don’t always see the good in people, because flash news- sometimes, people aren’t good”. He sounded both angry and tired. When he met her eyes and saw that they were glossy, he tried to calm down. Maybe it was for her sometimes childish behavior and her young age, or because she had no one else, but he’d always felt like he had to protect her, even though she was so strong. “I’ve tried. This whole month, I’ve kept telling myself that he wasn’t in control, that HYDRA’s the real culprit for my parents’ death. But at the end of the day, every time I see his face I see the image of my father calling out to him before he butchered him. My mother dying by his hand. And I have to put all my effort in restraining myself from killing him. I’m only able not to do that because of Steve”. He looked away, ashamed of the words that had come out of his mouth, but Y/N put a hand on his shoulder.

“Tony, all of your feelings are valid. God, now I’m really talking like a shrink, aren’t I?”, she frowned. “What I meant was, you don’t have to feel guilty because you want revenge or you’re full of hatred towards the Winter Soldier. But if you make an effort to know James- I know it’ll be tough, but you’ll be convinced that he’s nothing like that. I’ve read the old records about him. You two had a lot in common. You’re both cocky overachievers with perfect hair. Nice with the ladies…”, she joked.

Tony chuckled and finally met her gaze as she continued. “That man is still there, and so much more. He’s smart, kind, and caring. He’s the type of person who puts anyone before himself. Maybe you don’t wanna hear all this, but you have to”. Tony studied her face with intensity. “You love him, don’t you?”. Her cheeks turned slightly pink. She swallowed, ignoring his question. “Just try and think about this, okay?”. She bit her lip, then added: “Also, I’m sorry about forcing your hand for letting him stay here. I knew you were hurting too, and it was never my intention to take sides. But he needed our help, he deserves to be happy as much as any of us. I had to”.

Eventually, Tony smiled, giving her a pat on the shoulder. “I know”. After a brief silence, he let out a sigh. “Okay, then”. She abruptly raised her head, her eyes widened. “Okay?”. He rolled his eyes and snorted in amusement. “Yes, okay. I’ll give it try. I don’t know if I can do it, I’m not good at this second-chances thing, but I’ll try. At least for you, kiddo”. She smirked, then gave him a peck on the cheek while he put an arm around her shoulder. “Should I call you dad, now?”, she teased. “You try it”, he growled, waving a menacing finger at her and making her laugh. “What about mom, then?”. That earned her a smack on the head.

When they joined the others, the immediately noticed their attempts to look casual. Tony and Y/N exchanged a glance. “You listened to our entire conversation through the intercom, haven’t you?”, he inquired already aware of the answer. Nat smirked at him. “Welcome back, Stark”. He smiled back, and much to his own surprise he nodded towards Steve. From that moment, the mood shifted and the room filled with greeting and chatter once again. Yet, when Tony approached Bucky, everyone held their breath. Bucky stood there in silence, not knowing what to expect. If Tony would’ve hit him, he wouldn’t have defended himself. But instead, the man offered him a hand. Bucky blinked a couple times, then shook it with a grateful expression. Steve’s smile was blinding.

Tony clapped his hands. “Well, I think that in honor of this reconciliation a party is in order”, he exclaimed, earning many cheers. He searched for Y/N’s eyes. She was at Bucky’s side, and he had an arm around her waist and looked down at her adoringly. Tony grimaced at her. “What do you say? A peace offering”. She heaved a sigh. “As long as I don’t have to dress up, I say let’s party”. Tony’s devious smirk didn’t bode well at all.


	8. Part 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, I'm so sorry I didn't update sooner but I mainly post on Tumblr so I tend to forget about posting here! If you wanna follow me there, I'm gingerbreadhouseswritings. Also, I'm sorry I didn't reply to all your comments but I read them and I'd like to thank you very much, I love you!!!!

For what could be the tenth time that morning, Y/N groaned. “You  _tricked_ me!”, she whined, glaring at Tony. “I most certainly did not!”, he protested with a dramatic gasp, holding his chest in mock offense. “I had agreed to a nice party among friends for celebrating our reunion. I didn’t mean a replica of the freaking Yule Ball! This is insane”. There were several confused faces at her Harry Potter reference, which would have usually led to her complaining for the team’s lack of knowledge when it came to pop culture. But this time she ignored them, pouting at Tony.

Unimpressed by her frown, he lifted an eyebrow. “Hey, it’s not my fault if you don’t know what a real party’s like”. For a moment, he feared that she was gonna bite him, and took a step back. He raised his hands defensively, before insisting. “Listen, all the bigwigs are waiting for us to mess up. They’ve lost their chance when the King of Wakanda intervened, but they really want to lock us up. Believe me”. Wanda, whose face had gone white as Tony talked, stepped in with a panicked voice. “Wait, they’ve already confined us here. We haven’t left the compound in months. Why would they still want to arrest us?”.

After a brief silence, Steve inhaled deeply and glanced at her. “We kinda have a natural inclination for destroying government properties and occasionally breaking the law. My guess is, they’re not very  _happy_  with us”. Everyone giggled at Captain America’s unexpected sarcasm. Even Y/N, still focused on her pout, couldn’t hold back a snort. Tony nodded in approval of Steve’s words. “Yeah, they hate us. This is our chance to prove them that we are harmless charming people who can host a great event”, he touted, and his face lit up with childish excitement as if his idea was actually amazing.

Y/N scoffed, narrowing her eyes. “How is that  _any_  relevant?!”, she questioned, her voice dripping with skepticism. Steve looked at her in confusion. “Y/N, I don’t see what’s the big deal. It’s just one night, and we’ll have free booze, great food, and good music. I thought you’d be on board with that”. The young woman sighed, giving her friend her best puppy look. “But we already have all of that!”. Tony smirked. “Then this is your chance to thank me for my endless kindness”. Seeing the way her head snapped towards him, he realized he had to change strategy.

“Okay, now you’re acting like a child!”, he scolded raising his arms in exasperation. She was about to retort when she felt a light grip on her waist. Bucky’s thumb rubbing against her had her taken aback for a moment. And the curious glance he gave her right after finally calmed her. She exhaled, then explained: “Guys, you know large crowds aren’t my scene. Especially when there are many important people. I don’t wanna be responsible for messing this up”. Steve’s eyes softened at her confession. But Tony cocked an eyebrow in amusement. “Oh, please. I’m not falling for this act. Since when aren’t large crowds your scene? You’re the biggest drama queen I’ve ever met, you crave attention more than oxygen”. “ _Excuse you_?”, she hissed, narrowing her eyes.

Clearly not intimidated, Stark chuckled. “Kiddo, I didn’t mean it like an insult. You’re refusing ‘cause you don’t like to follow orders. It’s the main reason why I like you, you’re like me.  That’s why I know you’re lying”, he shrugged. She rolled her eyes, while he continued. “Look, we all know you can be very, and I mean  _very_ , annoying-”, Sam snorted at Tony’s words and earned himself a painful kick from Y/N, “-but you also have this strange kind of bitchy charm that for some reason people seem to appreciate”, concluded Tony cheerfully. “Thanks… I guess?”, mumbled Y/N raising a brow. Everybody giggled, and Bucky pulled her closer.

Smiling down at her, he pleaded: “Doll, I have to convince a bunch of angry politicians than I’m a perfectly stable gentleman, instead of a centenary serial killer who’s almost overthrown their government several times. And I’ll be wearing a tux for the first time in almost 80 years. I’m gonna need you there”. Tony clapped his hands together as if everything was now sorted. “See? Even RoboCop here wants you to come!”. Both Steve and Bucky frowned at the nickname, having zero clues about who or what RoboCop was. Tony, of course, ignored them. Instead, he pointed a finger at Y/N. “ _You_. You’re gonna doll up. You’ll do your makeup, style your hair, even wear a gown-  _Yes_ , no buts, don’t give me that look”, he decreed as soon as she was about to open her mouth to complain.

Y/N scowled as Tony went on. “You’ll enter the room smiling like you mean it, and you’ll be your usual charming self around all the people that count so that they leave this place wanting for more”. She put her hand on her hips. “This sounds an awful lot as if you’re asking me to socially prostitute myself”.  The man’s eyes twinkled. “That is an adorable way to put it!”, he exclaimed. The joke caused Nat to slap him on the head, but he simply chuckled. “Oh, also-”, he added addressing the whole group, “-the theme for the evening is  _‘Black and White’_ , so dress adequately”. With one last smirk, he headed towards the door. Y/N let out an irritated hiss.

“UGH! You know what, Tone, I’m pretty sure on the seventh day of Creation God was supposed to take out the trash but forgot to. Otherwise, I can’t explain your existence”. He laughed, without even bothering to look at her. “Clever, but keep it for tonight.  _Black and White_ , Y/N, don’t forget”, he chimed, waving vaguely whilst leaving the room. “Oh, I’ll remember alright”, she muttered under her breath, a mischievous grimace forming on her face.

A feeling of sinister concern washed over the room. Steve panicked. “Y/N, no, I know that look! Please,  _I’m begging you_ , don’t make anything crazy! We really need this party to be a success”. She threw her head back, a soft laugh leaving her mouth. “ _Relax_ , Steve. Do you think so little of me? Don’t answer this”, she rushed to say as she noticed the slightly amused discomfort in his eyes. “I’m gonna behave _perfectly_. I’ll be the  _life_  of the party, I can guarantee you that”, she purred, emphasizing her words with a devious smirk. With that she left the room, sensually swaying her hips.

They all stared at the door for a moment after she was gone. Steve let out a sharp sigh, shaking his head. “We’re screwed”. Bucky grinned and patted on his shoulder. The others snickered. Sam, on the other hand, had not looked away from the door and was muttering to himself. “How can she look so scary while wearing llama printed socks?  _Man_ , that woman is terrifying”. This time, loud laughter echoed in the whole room. After all, they knew her way too well.

**********************

The elegantly adorned room was already filled with dozens of people in fancy dresses, and several waiters walked around serving champagne and appetizers. Tony, Steve, and Bucky were standing in a corner, and one of them didn’t look happy at all.

“Where is she?”, hissed Tony. He glared at Bucky, who shrugged. All of the Avengers were at the party, except for Bruce and Thor, of course… Still no words from them. However, even Rhodey and Clint had been able to join. The whole group wore tailored clothes (courtesy of Tony) and forced smiles, as they welcomed the guests with endless handshakes and adulatory greetings.

“You were supposed to accompany her! Ugh, she’s gonna hear me, I can’t believe how stubborn and childish she’s being”, Tony fumed. He kept eyeing the door, expecting Y/N to finally arrive with a fashionable 20 minutes delay. “ _Don’t you try and comment, Capsicle_ ”, he blurted menacingly when he saw Steve’s ‘do-you-even-listen-to-yourself’ smirk.

The man took a deep breath. “Just go and drag her butt here. Ross is about to arrive, we need her. I have no idea why, but people seem to adore her”. Bucky cocked an eyebrow, amused, while Steve chortled at Tony’s comment. “You adore her too”, he pointed out. “Not by choice”, grumbled Tony, grabbing a flute from a tray and chugging all the champagne in a second.

Bucky glanced at his watch. Y/N had actually warned him that she would’ve arrived later, but she hadn’t wasted time explaining to him what ‘later’ meant. He was starting to get a little concerned.

Suddenly, the plain music played by the DJ changed. Tony’s head snapped, a scowl forming on his forehead as the raw notes of [ _Psycho_  by Muse](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DUqLRqzTp6Rk&t=Zjg2NmZjNjMwNTZlZWM5ODkzMTdiZGZhMzQ4MzgyZDdmZjRlMjc5ZixjOTM5MWU2ODU1ZjNmYjNjZWNmZWUwZDM5MjMzNDY5ZmM1MjdkZTgz) started to resound in the large room. After a moment, the guests seemed to notice, because the majority of them glanced around with the same confused expressions. “What the actual fuck? Gentlemen, if you’ll excuse me, I must exchange a few words with the DJ…”, announced Tony. He had taken no more than a couple of steps when the main doors opened with a loud sound.  

“ _There_  she is”, snickered Bucky. The general chatter faded as Y/N made her entrance, wearing none other than a gorgeous bright red gown. In the colorless black and white crowd, she had made certain of sticking out. She grinned and handed her coat to a waiter, who nodded reverently. As the chatting started once again, all the eyes were still locked on the hypnotic movement of her crimson garment. The thin fabric floated beautifully as she walked, revealing for a split second the deep tear that reached the half of her thigh.

With a smug smile, she graciously made her way towards a bunch of men and greeted them. Bucky recognized General Ross when he kissed her hand. Clearly, he had already forgotten their previous encounter.

After a moment, she excused herself with a polite smile and joined Bucky, Tony, and Steve, as the other Avengers did the same. A chorus of  _‘Hey, Y/N!’_  greeted her. “Hey guys”, she chirped. “Sorry about the delay, my makeup took longer than I expected”, she apologized with an innocent (and not even remotely believable) smile. Bucky snorted, wrapping an arm around her waist and kissing her on the head, softly.

Tony peered at her, crossing his arms. “Nice entrance. I have to assume you took out my security guards...? I told them that whoever wasn’t dress according to the theme could not join the party”. Her eyes widened in surprise. “Heavens no! No, I’m a good friend with Howard’s wife”, she revealed hinting at one of the men at the entrance. “She owns a little pastry shop back in NY and her cheesecake is unbeatable. When I told Howard I wanted to get back at you for something, he was immediately on board. He didn’t even ask what did you do”. Y/N pursued her lips, trying not to laugh.

Tony scoffed. “You’re despicable. And seriously, a coat? You live here, why would you bring a coat?”. She cackled, covering her mouth with her hand. “I borrowed it, it made my cool entrance cooler”. Tony had to bite back a laugh. Her y/e/c eyes bore into him. “Never force me to do anything like this again”. Nodding at her admonishment with a resigned smile, he agreed. “You made your point, kid”.

Her eyes glinted as a bright smile appeared on her face. “Good. Now, if you don’t mind, I have to charm some blowhards. Let’s hope they don’t notice that my smile is faker than Sam wings-”, Sam let out an indignant gasp at her joke, “-and that I’m  _actually_  dead inside”, she sighed dramatically, earning a proud wink from Tony.

While she mentally prepared herself to tackle the challenge, her fingers found Bucky’s and intertwined with them. He smirked down at her. “Now that you’re here, doll, I’m glad I had to wait. This dress is-”. His sentence trailed off. He was at loss for words, his steel blue eyes leering at her. She raised a brow, a playful twinkle in her gaze, while she waited for him to voice his thoughts.

A quiet groan escaped his mouth, and his lips brushed against her ear. “Well, let’s just say, it’s gonna be a  _tough night_  for me. Trying to concentrate on a bunch of buffoons while all I wanna do is get my hands  _all over you_ …”. She bit her lower lip in amusement, as he quietly husked those words. She stared at him through her long lashes. Her voice was liquid velvet as she murmured in reply. “Then we make a pact. After the party is over, you’re gonna rip this dress apart. Trust me when I say, if you like it, you can only like what’s under it  _even more_ ”. A low and animalistic chuckle made Bucky’s chest vibrate. “ _Deal_ ”.


	9. Part 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, as I said, I'm mainly active on Tumblr and that's where I post my stuff (https://ginatoldmeso.tumblr.com/). That's why I actually wrote 10 parts of this story but I hadn't updated it yet... sorry c: Anyway, I'm uploading now the two latest chapters.

“Mmmh, is that yesterday’s pizza?”, asked Y/N when she entered the crowded kitchen.

Two years had passed since when Bucky had first arrived, and life at the compound was as tranquil as ever, pretty uneventful apart from a couple of Tony’s insane parties.

Steve hummed in response, without taking his eyes off of the newspaper he was reading. When she reached for the cold pizza, he glanced at her. “Wait, are you eating it  _for breakfast_?”, he frowned, chewing his scrambled eggs. “Is there a better time to eat left-over pizza, Steve?”, she inquired in a singsong voice. “Yeah,  _any_  other time!”. His disgusted exclamation made her eyebrows raise. “Judgy much?!”. While the others chuckled, Sam intervened. “What can you do? He’s Captain ‘ _Too-righteous-for-you_ ’ America”, he mocked, giving Steve a pat on the shoulder. The room roared with laughter. “You guys are jerks”, grumbled Steve, returning his attention to his own breakfast.

With an amused smirk hovering on his lips, Bucky playfully smacked Y/N’s butt and pulled closer by grabbing her shirt. She grinned and sat on his lap, not before giving him a quick peck on the lips. Nat threw a napkin against them. “Jeez, get a room you two”. Tony whined in agreement. “Seriously, I’m throwing up my bacon if you keep this up”. Bucky huffed. “That seems a little exaggerate”. His relationship with Tony had improved a lot in the past months, especially now that the Winter Soldier was a mere memory.

“Oh, is it? I remember the sweet little Y/N that spent her nights in the lab making my job for me. What happened to her? I miss her”, sighed Tony dramatically, holding up his fork and pointing it at the couple. Y/N’s head rolled back as she laughed. “She got herself a man and he keeps her  _very_  busy at night”, she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.  “Sometimes during the day, too”, confirmed Bucky with a smug smile. “Please stop talking. It’s 8 in the morning”, begged Rhodey, trying to cover his ears. Both Bucky and Y/N snickered softly.

“Anyhow, how did it end with that little protegee of yours, Tony? Peter Parker, was it?”, questioned Steve, partly out of curiosity, partly to avert the conversation from two of his best friends’ sexual life. Tony pursed his lips. “Well, he’s refused to join the team for now, but I’m keeping an eye on him. Also, Y/N and I are building him a new suit”. The young woman nodded furiously. “We are. It’s great, wait till you see it”. Her eyes sparkled with excitement, it was clear she couldn’t wait to show their work to them.

“I don’t understand”, blurted Rhodey at one point. Everyone looked at him in confusion, waiting for him to clarify, but Y/N was still too invested in her breakfast to notice that the mood of the room had shifted. “Are you referring to Steve’s new depression beard?”, she puzzled absent-mindedly, biting into a piece of cheesy pizza. “Cause I think it’s dope”, she observed, giving her friend the thumbs-up. Steve winked, then turn to face Rhodey again.

Tony pressed his friend. “What, Rhodes? Speak up”. Furrowing his forehead, the man explained: “You followed the Council’s orders. You’ve been living here for almost 2 years, as simple civilians. And almost nothing happened, all is quiet. So why does it look like you’re all preparing for  _war_?”. Tony gave him a look that seemed to say ‘what are you talking about’, but Rhodey gestured at him and Y/N. “You two are building a super-suit for a 17-year-old”, he pointed out matter-of-factly, “and y’all are training daily”. There were a few knowing glances that didn’t escape his gaze. “What?!”, he exclaimed in exasperation.

Steve sighed. “Be honest… Do you really think this is it? The New York attack, Ultron, Thor and Bruce missing… Something’s coming”. His voice was low but clear, and the heavy truth of his words resonated through the room. “And we’re gonna be ready for it”, added Nat in a resolute tone. The rest of the group nodded. Tony even muttered: “Damn right we are”. Rhodey stared at the people in front of him for a moment. Then he exhaled sharply. “I should’ve retired years ago”, he whispered in mock regret, making them giggle. Tony sympathetically patted his shoulder.

********************************************************************

A few days later, the bunch was relaxing in the living room. “This is one hell of a storm, isn’t it?”, remarked Wanda, hinting at the loud roars of thunder from outside. The others hummed distractedly, but Y/N frowned. “It’s kinda unusual, given the time of the year”. She got up from the sofa, freeing herself from Bucky’s arm. He gave her a quizzical look, but she marched towards the large window. “Did you see that?”, she almost screamed a moment after. She had caught a glimpse of red light. Bucky stood up abruptly. “What?”, he investigated. Y/N shook her head slightly, her eyes never leaving the sky. “Nevermind, I must’ve been wrong”, she murmured. “Wait, nope, there it is again”. This time a series of red headlights appeared clear in the thunderstorm. “I see it too, now”, confirmed Steve as he turned to the others. “Let’s go check it out”.

When they stepped outside, everyone stopped dead in their tracks. “What the hell-”, mumbled Bucky, before his incredulity made the sentence trail off. The sight had left everybody speechless. Y/N was the first to snap out of the daze. “Spaceship… Awesome, we’re being invaded by aliens!”. “WHY IS THERE A SPACESHIP ON MY LAWN?”, yelled Tony, gesturing chaotically at the pod that had just landed in front of the compound. Then, the door opened. Steve’s jaw dropped. “Is that…?”, he started to say, voicing everybody’s surprise. “Good to see you, guys. I was starting to miss you”, greeted a familiar voice, as Thor’s broad frame appeared from the pod. He looked different, however. His hair had been cut short and one of his typically blue irises was golden. Someone else limped behind him. “Bruce?”. Nat’s voice came out in a whisper. “Hi, Nat”, the man smiled. “Of course, why should he greet us, too”, muttered Tony, but his eyes betrayed his relief.

After a long moment, Y/N’s shout broke the silence. “YOU’RE  _BAAAAAACK!”,_ she beamed as she ran towards the two, closing them both in a tight embrace. With a chortle, Thor lifted her and gave her a bear hug. “Y/N, how’ve you been?”, he asked, his voice filled with affection. Behind them, Bucky cocked an eyebrow. “Not bad, and you? Wait, what’s with the makeover?”, she managed to reply between her giggles. Thor put her down, and she noticed how tired he was.

He and Bruce exchanged a significant glance before he responded. “It’s been a long journey. We’re in trouble. I’ll explain everything, but right now you need to take care of Banner". Without even questioning the request, Tony nodded. “Of course. FRIDAY will provide”. “Right away, Mr. Stark”, assured the disembodied voice of the AI. “I’m fine”, Bruce tried to protest raising his ends, but he was clearly beaten. “You’re wounded. Go rest for a bit”, insisted Thor. The man was about to refuse, but Nat stepped in, “He’s right, Bruce. You look like you could use some sleep. I’ll go with you”, she suggested sweetly. They were staring at each other with such intensity, it made the others feel uncomfortable. “Thank you”, Bruce eventually agreed, flushing a bit. The two entered the house, shortly followed by the rest of the group, then headed towards the bedrooms.

Once their figures disappeared into the corridor, Thor looked around, his huge arm still around Y/N’s shoulders. “You don’t know how glad I am to see you all. And the newcomers as well”, he rasped, nodding at Bucky and Sam. “Er- There’s something I should probably tell you…”, he nervously started to say, motioning at the door. Four more people had left the pod and reached the main door. It was the craziest bunch Y/N had ever seen. It included what appeared to be a cybernetically modified raccoon and some sort of plant-like humanoid alien. But apparently, she was focusing on the wrong elements, since everybody’s eyes snapped towards the good-looking man who was now leaning against the doorframe. “FUCK, NOT  _HIM_  AGAIN”. Tony’s harsh curses cut through the air.

“Ah,  _Earth’s mightiest heroes_. Did you miss me?”, chanted the man with a smirk, a lock of his raven hair casually hanging in front of his blue-green eyes. Steve was fuming. The general reaction seemed a bit exaggerated, thought Y/N with a frown. "Who’s this?”, she puzzled, staring at the man while a thin line formed on her forehead. “Y/N, get away from him”, ordered Tony. She scoffed. “Chill old man, he’s not a dog with rabid”. “Trust me, he’s worse”, Steve almost growled. Bucky was confused. He couldn’t recognize the man, and apparently, he wasn’t the only one. Even Wanda and Sam’s eyes were darting from Steve to the tall stranger, clearly clueless. Vision was expressionless.

Thor hastily stepped between the Avengers and his companions. “No, wait! Let me explain, my brother is on our side, now, he’s-”. Y/N’s eyes widened at his words. “Your brother? Oh, now I see! You’re Loki", she grinned at the man. Loki stared back at her, tilting his head to the side. “In the flesh. Are you supposed to be the new cheerleader of the team? Or maybe more like a  _mascot_ , you’re quite the little thing”, he suggested mischievously, studying the woman with a critical eye. “ _Loki_ ”, warned him his brother through his clenched teeth. But Y/N’s snorted in amusement. “And aren’t you supposed to be dead? Or funny, given that the first was clearly a lie”. Loki’s eyes narrowed, but there was a warm glint in his gaze. “Yes, about that…”, murmured Thor in embarrassment, but Tony cut him off. “We can fix that right now”, he hissed menacingly. Loki sniggered.

Steve put a hand on Tony’s shoulder. “Calm down, Tones. Thor, care to explain? Who are they?”, he inquired, gesturing at the other guest, who had observed the scene in silence from the corner of the room. Thor cleared his throat. “Yes, of course. May I introduce you to some friends of mine. Rabbit-”. The raccoon rolled his eyes. “The name’s Rocket, but whatever”. “-Tree”, the plant alien corrected him in a raspy voice: “I am Groot”. “I am Steve Rogers”, replied Steve with a polite nod, which made Y/N snicker. The whole scene was absurd. “-and last but not least, Val”. The last one was a young woman. She wore some sort of armor, probably Asgardian, and a sword hung by her side. “Hey”, she greeted shortly. Y/N lifted a brow. “Shoot, now I’m in love”, she blurted quietly. “Hey!”, complained Bucky with a mock pout. “Sorry, honey, but she’s gorgeous”, Y/N whispered loudly back to him, before turning to face the woman. “You’re gorgeous”, she complimented with a smile. Valkyrie grinned. “Thanks”, she winked.

After the introductions were made, Tony gestured at the meeting room. “It seems like we all have a lot to talk about”.

********************************************************************

Half an hour later, Thor finished his retelling of what had happened to him in the past years. He had explained Ragnarok, the death of Odin and the arrival of his sister Hela, his meeting with Bruce on Sakaar, and the destruction of Asgard. He narrated how Thanos’s ship had appeared on their way to Earth. With the last of his energies, Heimdall had managed to send Thor, Bruce, Loki and Valkyrie on a near planet. Shortly after, they were aided by the so-called Guardians of the Galaxy and had borrowed their pod. Rocket and Groot had decided to follow them, while the rest of the Guardians went after Thanos.

“This is what the stone was warning me about”, stated Vision, worried. Scratching his beard, Steve asked: “How much time do we have?”. Thor shrugged. “I’d say a few days, at best. Thanos already has two gems, that we know of. The Power stone, which he retrieved from Xandar last week, decimating the entire planet. And the Space stone, which he took from us when he slaughtered half of my people. The survivors are safe, for now. We’re only alive thanks to Heimdall”. Y/N gently squeezed his arm. She knew how much Heimdall meant for her friend. “I’m sorry he had to die for you to live”, she uttered. Thor nodded, giving her a weak smile.

Bucky intervened in a low voice, staring at the demigod. “What do we know about the other stones? Where are they? Except for the one in this very room, of course", he inquired, hinting at Vision’s Mind stone. Inhaling deeply, Thor answered. “One is currently on Knowhere, in the hands of a man called The Collector. That’s where the rest of the rabbit’s crew is headed right now. Hopefully, they will get there before Thanos”. “And the others?”, insisted Tony. “No one knows the position of the Soul Stone, but the Time stone is here on Earth, in possession of a wizard”. Tony’s eyebrows snapped together, and he wasn’t the only one to be caught off guard. “A wizard?”, repeated Steve, blinking as if he thought to have heard it wrong. Loki scoffed, before muttering. “If you wanna call that buffoon a wizard”

“This is it. We’re in the endgame now”. Tony’s statement hovered in the tense air. The immensity of the danger had all of the heroes at loss for words. Steve tried to recompose, resorting to his Captain voice. “We need to find a strategy to-”, he started to say, but Loki’s loud laughter interrupted him. “You can’t  _possibly_  believe you have a chance in defeating Thanos”. Steve scowled slightly. “Everyone can be defeated”, he affirmed, staring at Loki. Loki scoffed, clearly annoyed by Steve’s demeanor. “He’s too powerful. You’re all as good as dead, and so is half of the Universe”, he articulated in a cold voice. “ _Loki_ ”, begged Thor, giving his brother a pleading look.

But Loki was turning to face Y/N, who had let out a taunting laugh. “You shouldn’t be so tragic, you know, since you’re going to help us”, she suggested. “And why would I do that?”. Loki’s eyebrows were arched in disbelief. She grimaced, shrugging nonchalantly. “Because one way or another,  _I’ll make you_ ”. Her honeyed voice didn’t promise anything good. “Y/N-”, Steve tried to stop her. Trying to handle someone like Loki wasn’t the smartest move, but of course, she just had to make things difficult. “What, you think you can boss me around? I am a God”, hissed Loki, as his nostrils flared and a pair of carved daggers magically appeared in his hands. Bucky instinctively tried to step in front of Y/N, and Thor did the same with his brother.

But it was pointless since Y/N was already holding two knives. She cocked an eyebrow at Loki, staring at him sarcastically. “So what, you think you’re the only one that can take out knives from improbable places?”, she provoked him with a half smile, while Bucky inspected her body in with a frown, trying to understand where she had been keeping the weapons. There was a moment of dead silence, everyone expecting Loki to attack her. But then, he snickered, and the daggers vanished into thin air.

“I like her”, he cheerfully informed his brother, gesturing at the woman. She smirked, dropping the knives on the table. “How sweet! If I may return the compliment, you’re marginally likable as well”. At her side, Bucky suppressed a smile. Two years later, she could surprise him as well as the first day they’d met. He found her hand, and their fingers laced together, even though her eyes were still fixed on Thor and Loki.

Rolling his eyes, Tony spoke. “I’m glad you’re making friends, Y/N, but there’s no way in hell we’ll accept his help”. His voice didn’t admit buts. Thor tried to reason with him. “Stark, we need my brother’s help. This fight is too big for just us”. “He can’t be trusted”. At that point, Y/N stepped in. “If you think about it, he has no reason whatsoever to betray us. Except maybe, for fun”, she conceded frankly. “True, indeed”, confirmed Loki with a grin. “Dammit, Y/N! Why do you always have to be like this?!”, burst out Tony. She was taken aback for a second. “What have I done, now?!”. Tony raised his arms, exasperated. “You keep thinking that anyone can be redeemed, giving everybody a second chance, and then a third, and so on. You’re gonna get yourself killed, someday!”.

As soon as she slowly put her hands on her hips, Bucky pulled her near, trying to calm her. She could be such a hot-head, dealing with her was exhausting at times. “I was right about James”, she almost growled. Thor blinked, a puzzled expression printed on his face. “Who’s James?”. Bucky nodded at him. “I am. Nice to meet ya, pal”. He sounded nonchalant, trying to ignore the argument that was about to explode. Thor apparently had the same idea, cause he smiled back and replied happily. “Pleasure’s all mine, James!”.

Wanting to alleviate the tension, Steve decided to be the one doing the talk (especially since Tony was too busy glaring at Y/N, and her eyes were on the verge of sending out real flames). “Thor, we appreciate what your brother has done for Asgard and for you, but I have to be with Tony on this one”. Y/N’s head snapped towards him. “Steve!”, she complained. “Y/N, you don’t know him”, he told her in a firm voice. She shook her head. “I know what he’s done, but that’s not a good reason to-”. This time it was Steve’s turn to raise his voice. “You weren’t in New York during the attack! Do you have any idea of how many innocent people he’s killed?”. Y/N bit her lower lip, nervously. “Yes, that… was very bad, please don’t go around murdering people anymore”, she begged Loki, who lifted a brow as if the whole conversation barely touched him. Out of the blue, Sam spoke. “This is no joke, Y/N”.

The sound that left Y/N’s lips was not human. They were scolding her like a baby, but she wasn’t one. And even though she didn’t take herself seriously, the one in question at the moment was a deadly serious matter to her. “I’m perfectly aware it’s not a joke, thank you, Sam”, she barked. She addressed the whole room. “Do I really strike as a person who trusts easily? My faith in people vanished when my second-grade teacher revealed herself to be an assassin and attempted to gut me. True story”. Bucky’s fingers dug deeper into her hip as she spoke. He knew that story. Despite the flat voice she was flaunting, he knew how hard it was for her to give everybody even such a tiny piece of her past. Y/N relaxed into his grip. She quickly peered at him before resuming in a confident tone. “But I’d put my life in the hands of each and every person in this room. And oddly enough, that includes Loki”.

The person most shocked by her words was Loki himself. He was staring at her with widened eyes, and he couldn’t believe how much blind faith that mere Midgardian was putting in him. How naive of her. And yet, he felt happy when he returned her smile. Steve was about to speak again, but Y/N insisted. "I understand why you’re hesitating, I do, but I also know you trust Thor completely. So believe him”, she pleaded. Everyone pondered on her request. She met Bucky’s gaze and knew in an instant that she had his full support. That gave her the strength she didn’t know she needed.

“Do you realize what you’re asking of us?”, sighed Tony. Y/N shrugged. “Well, I’m not actually asking, it’s more like an order". At Tony’s annoyed expression, she frowned. “Is it just the number of people he’s killed that preoccupies you? Because if that’s the case, my hands are more soaked in blood than all of yours. You’ll have to kick me out of the team, too”. Y/N looked straight into Steve’s eyes. Finally, he smiled, shaking his head. "Always dramatic, huh?”. She chuckled. “That’s how I live, baby”.

Ignoring her teasing, Steve stared at Loki and slowly nodded. “Okay”. Tony scoffed. “Seriously, Cap? You have her same problem, you’re not thinking straight. Not everyone is good, not everyone can be saved. Just because you were right about your high school sweetheart, doesn’t mean you can’t ever be wrong”. Steve’s face became crimson red as he retorted angrily. “I never said that, Tony, you did. But I think Y/N is right, we should trust Thor”. Tony rolled his eyes. “So what, are we supposed to invite Reindeer Games into the club? Maybe doing sleepovers together, painting our nails and share our secrets?”.

Loki cocked a brow. “Is that what you heroes usually do? I’m not surprised you’re so weak”, he teased. “I mean, I wouldn’t mind. A manicure doesn’t sound too bad”, commented Y/N. Steve ignored them and he spoke directly to Tony. “We don’t have to be friends with him, nor trust him. Trust is something that needs to be earned”. “I’ll pass”, responded Loki, but Steve ignored that as well. “If Thanos is half as strong as Thor said, we need all the help we can get”. Tony reflected for a moment. “Fine”, he conceded eventually, “But I’m not leaving him out of my sight”. Steve nodded. “Neither am I”. Flashing a smile at Y/N, Thor thanked Tony. “You won’t regret it”. Tony muttered something that sounded a lot like “ _I highly doubt it_ ”, but didn’t add anything else on the matter.

Instead, he announced he was going and grab something to drink. “Even though the circumstances aren’t the best, we still got something to celebrate”, he shrugged. Val cheerfully offered to help him, and they headed towards the kitchen. The room filled with chatter, as the remaining Avengers bombarded Rocket with questions about space and he scrutinized the space, searching for something interesting to pinch. Loki threw himself on a chair, observing the others from a distance, a bored expression on his handsome face.

Thor made his way towards Y/N and Bucky. “What happened with Tony and Steve?  I thought they had finally stopped bickering”, he whispered with concern, peering at Steve from the other side of the room. Y/N rolled her eyes. “While you were gone, mommy and daddy had a big fight and almost got divorced. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t find any Avengers left now”, she explained, pursuing her lips. Thor looked astounded. “What was the fight about?”. “Several things, but mostly James. Long story”, she added, when it appeared he wanted to ask more. “I see. So you two are together, I must assume?”, questioned Thor, eyeing Bucky’s arm which was wrapped around Y/N’s waist.

She beamed. “Yup”. Thor smiled, then he addressed Bucky. “Treat her well. She’s like family to me. If anything happens to her, you’ll feel my wrath”. Bucky laughed heartily, before replying. “Got it. But don’t worry, I’ll treat her like a queen”, he assured and glanced at Y/N in pure adoration. The demigod’s face lit up. He patted Y/N’s shoulder. “I’m happy to see you find yourself a worthy lover”. She frowned. It was an odd compliment, after all. "Thanks, I guess?”. “This whole conversation is disturbing”, commented Loki, who was observing his brother’s awkward behavior with disgust. “Amen, brother”, grumbled Y/N, making him snort.

When the drinks arrived, Thor presented all the information they had about Thanos’s forces. Having given them all the details they needed, he announced he had to leave together with Rocket and Groot. The news had caused a choir of protests from the group, but he had shushed them immediately. “I must go to Nidavellir at once. Eitri the Dwarf is the only one who can make me a new hammer, and I need a proper weapon to battle Thanos. We’ll see each other soon”, he had explained to Y/N, whilst she was pouting at him. Said their goodbyes, the weird trio had jumped on the pod and flew off. Just before leaving, Thor had fallen behind with Y/N. “Take care of my brother for me, will you?”. She had smiled, reassuringly. “I promise”.

********************************************************************

“ _So_ , are you and Thor really like brother and sister?”, Bucky had casually thrown the question at Y/N, trying to sound disinterested. He was lying down next to her, his fingers tracing circles on her naked back. After agreeing that the battle plans could wait until the morning after, everyone had gone to bed, hoping to get some rest while they still could. Y/N’s body vibrated with laughter against his large hand. “Does this question mean I finally get to see my handsome boyfriend acting jealous?”. He smirked. “ _Handsome_ , huh?”. She playfully smacked his chest, before adding: “ _You’re the only one for me, James Barnes_. And to answer your question, yes, Thor is my spiritual big brother”.

Bucky hummed with satisfaction and started to press feather-like kisses along her spine. She shivered in pleasure, before turning to catch Bucky’s lips. With her face buried in the crook of his neck, she almost didn’t hear him talking. “I’m proud of ya, doll”. His claim surprised her. “Thanks. To what do I owe this honor?”, she mocked. He nudged her, then tenderly tilted her chin to bore his eyes into hers with consuming intensity. “I don’t know if you’re right about Loki, but I sure enjoyed seeing you standing up for him. It reminded me of when you did the same for me, two years ago. That was the day you saved me. Did I ever thank you?”, he husked, his thumb gently stroking her cheek.

She flashed him a lopsided grin. “Several times. Like,  _daily_ ”. He groaned, half annoyed half pleased by her sarcasm, and kissed her once again. “Good. Then let me thank you once more”, he murmured breathing on her skin, while he rolled on top of her with a sinful smirk. “Who am I to refuse an old man his wishes?”, she teased, and the twinkle in her eyes couldn’t be more devious. “Oh,  _now_  you’re in for a harsh retaliation,  _sweetheart_ ”, he murmured against the shell of her ear.


	10. Part 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I DO NOT OWN THE IMAGES. Source: tumblr.com

There was a loud knock on the door. “What now?!”, grumbled Y/N, stumbling to untangle herself from the sheets. Less than two hours had passed since she’d fallen asleep.

Bucky let out a chuckle and got up. “I’ve got this, doll. I feel like you’re gonna punch whoever it is, I need to protect the poor soul”, he teased. She was too sleepy even to retort, and her face fell back on the bed. When the door opened, Steve stood there in his combat gear. He shot Bucky an apologizing smile. “Sorry to wake you, guys, but we have problems”.

“ _What’s new?_ ”, Y/N’s voice came out muffled, her face buried into her pillow. Steve pursed his lips, trying not to smile. Then he switched back to his Captain mode. “Suit up, we need to go now. Wheels up in five, I’ll explain on the way”. With that, he marched away.

Five minutes later, two very sleepy Y/N and Bucky reached the quinjet, where Steve, Tony, Bruce, Val, and Loki were waiting for them. The others were staying back to keep Vision and the Mind stone safe. They took off immediately, as Steve began to explain.

“A giant spaceship?”, asked Y/N once he was done talking. An alien transport had just entered the Earth’s atmosphere and was headed towards New York. “That’s the second one in two days, this must be a joke”, she grunted. “I’m afraid not. It’s gonna reach Manhattan in about 20 minutes. We don’t know their objective, but we can assume it has to do with Thanos”.

“Do we have permission to intervene?”, inquired Bucky, although he knew what the answer was going to be. Steve hesitated. “Not exactly”, admitted Tony, not bothering to worry. “Tight”, was Y/N’s comment, followed by a long yawn that she failed to suppress.

Steve cocked an eyebrow. “Still tired? Come on, we managed to get 5 hours of sleep. It’s not much, but at least we’re rested”. She had never been a big sleeper, so he was surprised. Y/N peered at him. “Sure. That’s how we spent our last hours of peace.  _Sleeping…_ ”. Bucky snorted. Steve frowned slightly, confused, then he understood the implications of her words and flushed slightly.

“You two are- Ugh, I don’t even….”, he stuttered, indignant. ”What did I ever do to deserve this?”, they heard him curse under his breath as he quickly stepped away from them. The couple laughed, high-fiving. That kind of allusive teasing at Steve’s expense was too entertaining to turn down.

As the quinjet got closer to the destination and the Manhattan skyline became clear from the windows, Y/N turned to Bucky with a weak smile. “Looks like you finally get to admire my powers at work”, she joked, trying to keep her voice steady and cocky. He just held her close, without a word. Bucky knew enough about her past to know why she was so nervous about fighting, but he wasn’t gonna leave her alone with her fears. After all, he had promised himself to never leave her at all.

**********************************************************************

When they took in the sight of the spaceship, their jaws dropped. It was a ring of metal of gigantic dimensions. “Holy shit”, murmured Steve. “For Heaven’s sake, watch your mouth, young man!”, scolded Tony, an amused glint in his eyes. Steve huffed in annoyance. “Will this joke ever get old?”. “Not as long as I live”, snorted Tony, and he nudged him. “That  _may not_  be much of a problem anymore”, commented Bucky quietly, focused on the unknown menace they were about to face.

It was floating above Greenwich Village, so that was where they landed. There were people running away in terror and the wind caused by the ship’s engines made traffic signs and tree branches flying around as if they were mere leaves in the breeze.

“Friday, what are we looking at?”. “Not sure. I’m working on it”, responded the AI. Steve inhaled deeply. “Tony, we need to get the people out of here”. “Yeah, all right. Friday, evac anyone south of 43rd Street. Notify first responders”, ordered the man. “Will do”.

As the group walked towards the source of the chaos, an unfamiliar voice called them from behind. “What are you doing here?”. Two men were rushing to reach the spaceship as well, and one of them was inspecting the newcomers with a cocked eyebrow. At Y/N’s side, Loki grunted, clearly displeased.

“We’re the Avengers, we’re here to help”, immediately assured Steve, but the man in the red cloak rolled his eyes. “Yes, I know who you are. I asked what are you doing here. I thought you were all retired”, he repeated, narrowing his eyes as his gaze fixed on Loki.

Tony furrowed his forehead. “Who are you?”. “Doctor Stephen Strange. And this here is Wong”, he replied in a curt way, gesturing to the shorter man at his side. Wong nodded at them. “Oh, you’re the wizard dudes. You know they’re coming for your stone, do you?”, inquired Y/N. “I’d like to see them try”, Strange scoffed.

Tony was about to retort, but all of a sudden the loud engine stopped and a sinister voice resounded through the air. “Hear me, and rejoice. For you are about to die at the hands of the Children of Thanos”. Two figures had begun to appear from the mist. They were humanoid, but one was about seven feet tall and carried a deadly-looking two-bladed ax.

The other one continued to chant his speech. “Be thankful that your meaningless lives are now contributing-”. Y/N let out a peeved sound. “ _Jeez_ , another villain who enjoys monologuing? How cliché”. Valkyrie drew out her sword, clicking her tongue in approval. “Yes, let’s skip to the part where we give them a little payback for Asgard”.

He glanced at them in disgust, before addressing Strange. “Stonekeeper. Do these chattering animals speak for you?”. With a swift gesture, Strange summoned magic circles from his hands, ready to fight. “Certainly not. I speak for myself. You’re trespassing in this city and on this planet”.

“He means get lost, Squidward”, articulated Tony, and Y/N couldn’t help but admire the iconic accuracy of his nicknames. The alien hissed as if he considered them not more than some particularly bothering bugs. With a nod of his head, he commanded the other to retrieve the stone.

“Banner? Wanna relive the old days?”, whispered Steve, and a not-so-enthusiastic Bruce stepped in. The monstrous creature slowly moved forward towards them. Bruce started to turn into Hulk, but the green tint that characterized his alter ego barely reached his neck, before vanishing. He tried again, as the enemy was getting closer and closer, but failed a second time.

Strange was staring at the scene, unimpressed. “Dude, you’re embarrassing us in front of the wizards”, muttered Tony. “What’s wrong?”, asked Val in concern. She was looking at Bruce with affection. “I don’t know. We’ve sorta been having a thing”, he panted. Tony’s eyes widened. “Now’s no time for a thing! That’s the thing right there”, he pointed at the massive alien that was charging against them, as the others prepared to fight.

“I’m sorry, I- I can’t”, Bruce glanced at his friends guiltily. “It’s okay”, Steve reassured him, his eyes never leaving the enemy. Already in his new nanotech suit, Tony blasted the alien, sending him against a building. Strange opened a portal. “Doctor Banner, if your green friend won’t be joining us you better take cover”. Bruce hesitated, before disappearing into the portal.

The other alien, the one who had spoken before, was now smirking. Without moving a muscle, he sent a car flying against them, which Tony easily stopped with another blast. “This is the day you perish by the hands of Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian. You can’t run”, he continued. His companion had already gotten up and was charging again. “Good, I’ve never been a fan of jogging”, shrugged Y/N.

Steve turned to her, Bucky, Valkyrie, and Loki. “Leave him to us. You take the big one”. She sighed dramatically. “You’re the Captain… be safe”, she added more seriously, glancing at him. There was the hint of a smile on his face. “You, too”.

So the real fight began. As Steve, Tony, Strange and Wong tried hard to hit Ebony Maw while simultaneously dodging his telekinetic attacks, Y/N and the others struggled to take down Cull Obsidian. It was a four-on-one fight, but still, he was formidable. And they were all fighting him with nothing but blades or bullets, which couldn’t penetrate his unbreakable skin.

“Loki, you’re a god, aren’t you? Can’t you just disintegrate this one?”, yelled Y/N, dodging a particularly brutal hit. “I’m afraid I haven’t fully recovered. We’ll have to do this the hard way”, the other responded, his face contorted in a grimace for the effort.

She flashed him a cunning smile. “You used ‘we’”, she commented, panting.  He managed to leave a deep cut in the monster’s calf. “Yes, well, don’t expect me to participate in your team building exercises”, he grunted. The sound of Bucky’s gun was deafening and Y/N had to shout for Loki to hear her words. “Oh, we don’t do those. We just let our negative emotions pent up till we either try to kill each other or sink into chronic depression”. The God of Mischief had to hold back a laugh. “I see. Then I might fit right in, after all!”.

Val rolled her eyes and reprimanded them with a harsh “Less talking, more killing!”, at which Bucky hummed in agreement. “Y/N, love, I think it’s time you show us what you’ve got”. A hint of panic crossed her eyes. “I should only use my powers in extreme conditions”, she shouted back at him over the sound of explosions and clashing metal.

Val, who was listening to the conversation while swinging her sword ferociously, clinched her jaw. “What isn’t extreme about this whole situation?!”. Y/N bit down her lip. “We can beat him! We just have to- Woah!”. She interrupted mid-sentence since something white and sticky had materialized on Obsidian’s face, covering his eyes and making him stumble on his feet. They looked around only to catch a glimpse of a red and blue costume speeding towards Tony.

“Hi, everyone! Good to see you, Mr. Stark”, Spiderman greeted cheerfully, avoiding the block of cement that Ebony Maw had just thrown in his direction. “Hey kid, what are you doing here?”, they heard Tony answering. “Field trip. So, what do these guys want?”. “They’re here to steal a necklace from a wizard”.

While Bucky and Y/N had followed the whole Spiderman event through the news and often through Tony’s words, Loki lifted an eyebrow. “What’s with the puppy?”. Y/N chuckled, removing the sweat from her forehead with her hand (they were still in the middle of an alien fight, after all). “Tony found him on the internet and now he’s like his new son. But don’t tell him I said that, he’s in denial”.

They still hadn’t been able to take down the enemy. The others were struggling as well, they could only keet avoiding Ebony Maw’s attacks without being able to land a single hit on him. Maybe it was best if they all combined their strengths.

“A little help, here?”, Y/N called out, her breathing ragged. Wong turned to her and opened a portal behind Obsidian. With a powerful kick Val threw him through it, and as soon as he tried to jump out, the magic portal shut close, severing one of his arms. “Thank you”, grinned Y/N at the man.

“Wong, you’re invited to my wedding!”, informed Tony, just when one of Ebony Maw relentless attacks hit him. Peter attempted to catch him, but it only resulted in the two of them hitting the hard wall of a building. Maw attacked again, and in a second both Wong and Steve were lying on the ground.

Bucky started to rush at Steve’s side, while Strange tried to fight back on his own. As powerful as the wizard was, he couldn’t anything against the enemy’s force. His abilities were simply superior, and in no time he had Strange subdued.

“Y/N!”, the woman heard someone calling her name. It was Steve. He was looking at her with pleading eyes, and she understood that she had no choice… Pushing away her doubts, she marched towards Ebony Maw, throwing away her now shredded jacket. “Help the others”, she ordered to Loki and Val, sounding more confident that she actually was.

Ebony Maw burst into a sneering laugh at the scene. “Are you under the illusion that you can overpower me, child?”, he mocked. “Well, I hope so. Otherwise, it would be awkward, don’t you think? I’ve already shown off my hot superhero strut”.

As she spoke, her eyes became golden and her body surrounded by some sort of luminous halo. He attacked her, dozens of sharpened bricks flying against her. She didn’t even flinch, as she sent back his attack with what appeared to be a wave of pure energy.

Every time he tried to hit her, she twisted his attacks against him. Bucky, like everyone else, couldn’t take his eyes off of her. She looked so fierce, even though her moves were studied and focused. There was a savage glint in her gaze that betrayed something else, something darker. Everything about her screamed ‘ _dangerous_ ’ like a neon sign. It was like watching a hurricane, or an earthquake. A true force of nature. So unpredictable and destructive, yet magnificent to behold.  

Ebony Maw was bleeding copiously, his previous smirk gone. Now there was a trace of uncertainty in his expression. He had never believed there was someone in the universe able to defeat him, outside of the Black Order. Leave alone a puny human. Whilst he gathered the last of his energy, hoping to finish her once and for all, she stared at him coldly.

Everything went to chaos. Bucky felt cast backward by the blast wave. There were shattered pieces of glass flying around like darts, and a cloud of dust forced everyone to cover their eyes. “WATCH OUT!”, Y/N’s warning scream could barely be heard over the noise.

When the dust cleared, the street was completely destroyed. Only a few buildings had survived the blow. Once he was able to open his eyes, Bucky looked around a lump of worry in his throat. When he saw the dead body of Ebony Maw, he instinctively searched for Y/N’s eyes, a proud smile forming on his lips. However, his breath stopped when he found her, a couple feet away.

He stared in horror at the scene: she was standing above Steve, who was still on the ground, and a splinter of metal sheet pierced her chest from side to side. She must have thrown herself in the way to shield him, knowing he wouldn’t have been able to dodge it. “Shit, no”, spit out Bucky, snapping out of his haze as he gawped at her pained expression and the blood dripping from her lacerated thorax.

He ran to her. “No,  _no, no, no_ ”, he kept murmuring to himself like a prayer, terrified to have the love of his life ripped away from him. He caught her before she could fall, holding her in his quivering arms as if she was made of porcelain. She hissed in pain when he eased her down.

Everyone else quickly surrounded her. Even those who had just met her seemed devastated at the sight. “This isn’t really how I pictured my day going when I woke up this morning, but who am I to complain, right?”, she grasped, exhaustedly spitting blood from her mouth.

“We need to get her to the hospital!”. Peter’s panicked voice was barely reaching Bucky. The former assassin was frozen. He knew he should’ve been doing something, but he didn’t move. There was no way any human could survive a wound like that, almost all the vital organs had been hit.

“No”, she reassured calmly, studying the damage. “Pull it out”. Unsure to have heard that right, Bucky blinked in confusion. “What?”. Y/N was staring at Steve, but she glanced at Bucky just to comfort him. “Trust me”. She nodded at her friend as if to say ‘just do it’, and before Bucky could even think to react, Steve grabbed the metal and extracted it at once from her chest. She shrieked, as the blood gushed from the hole in her body.

Bucky didn’t even felt himself moving, but a moment later he was grabbing his best friend’s collar, liquid rage pumping through his veins. A flow of curses and rants of desperation flowed from his mouth, as he shouted against Steve. “WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO? SHE’S GONNA DIE, YOU KILLED HER”. He felt someone trying to separate them, but he didn’t budge.

He couldn’t understand why Steve, of all people, had done this to him. For the first time since in months, he felt his self-control shuttering. He wanted Steve to suffer as much as he was suffering at that moment, and no one could’ve been able to stop him.

Steve hadn’t reacted. He had a strange expression on his face. “ _You killed her_ ”, Bucky repeated in a murmur, his voice cracking for the tears. He felt a void inside him, devouring him without leaving nothing but emptiness.

Y/N’s voice called Bucky. “James”. Her voice was so tranquil and strong, far from the shaky whisper of a few seconds before. His head immediately snapped to look at her at the unexpected sound. And once again, he was at loss for words. “I’m okay, see?”, she snickered.

Under the incredulous gazes of everyone, the torn flesh was closing on its own, as if stitched by an invisible hand. In a blink, it was completely gone, and her pale face had regained its color.

“So cool”, blurted out Peter. The only people who weren’t completely thunderstruck were, of course, Steve and Tony, since they already knew what she was capable of. Y/N shivered as Bucky caressed her smooth skin, his mouth agape. His relief was so intense, it couldn’t be described.

She jumped on her feet and studied the surroundings to see if anyone else had been hurt in the explosion. Luckily, they were all okay, except being a little worn out by the fight. She sighed in relief, resting against Bucky’s chest (he seemed unable to let her go). “Well, that could’ve gone a lot worse”. Tony grinned. “Good job”. Steve didn’t say anything. Instead. He gave her a sorrowful glance.

Before she could say anything to him, Tony spoke again. “Come on, let’s find Banner. We need to meet up with the others and come up with a plan of action”. As he was talking, he motioned to follow him, staring at Strange. “I don’t think so”, the wizard refused firmly. Tony’s eyebrows snapped together. “ _Excuse me_?”. Strange gave him a challenging look. “I won’t leave the Sanctum unattended. It is my duty to protect it”.

Loki rolled his eyes. As he’d suspected, the wannabe mage was going to be a pain in the neck. “I’m sorry, did you miss the part when you got almost kidnapped by aliens and we saved your ass?”, insisted Tony, his voice dripping with sarcasm. The other scoffed. “You mean when you almost died and your charming friend destroyed half the neighborhood?”, he snarked back, gesturing towards Y/N.

“Hey!”, she protested with a frown. Peter, who had now removed his mask, had her same expression as he furrowed his brows, scowling at Strange. “Not cool, man! She just rescued you”. Y/N nodded at the boy’s words. “Yeah, try being more grateful,  _Dumbledore_!”, she exclaimed.

The man was real close to roll his eyes. “Of course. Thank you for helping me even though I didn’t ask for your help and for blowing up half of Greenwich Village”, he thanked with an ironical smile. “My decision stays unaltered, I’m not leaving the Sanctum”.

Tony let out a small laugh. “What is it that you do exactly, besides making balloon animals?”, he questioned. Strange wasn’t touched by his mocking tone and answered with a smile. “Protecting your reality, douchebag”.

The tension in the air could be sliced with a butter knife. Loki found himself amused. “My my, it’s like there’s two of them”, he commented quietly. Never in his life he ever imagined he would have, one day, cheered for Tony Stark. However, he had an ax to grind with the wizard.

“Guys, is everyone okay?”, panted Bruce, who had just reached them. “I saw the explosion and- what’s happening?”, he puzzled in confusion, but no one answered. Val was cleaning her sword from the blood, entirely disinterested in the men’s bickering, while the others’ eyes darted from Strange to Tony as if watching a tennis match.

Tony’s lips were pursed like he’d been chewing a lemon rind, while Strange had a challenging expression.

Steve finally decided to intervene. They hadn’t enough time to waste for a useless alpha males contest. He addressed Strange and Wong. “Okay, if you can’t leave then we’re coming with you. I’ll call the others and tell them to meet us at this Sanctum of yours”.

“Wonderful, can’t wait”, consented the wizard in mock enthusiasm. He guided them towards one of the buildings which had resisted the fight, along Bleecker Street.

**********************************************************************

They followed him inside, but suddenly Tony blocked Peter. “Where do you think you’re going?”. The boy looked like a child caught on the act of doing something wrong. He gave Tony a pleading look. “Mr. Stark, I can help!”, he was almost begging. “ _Help_? You don’t even know what’s happening”. Peter shrugged. “I’m guessing it has to do with an alien invasion?”, he replied tentatively.

Y/N gave him the thumbs up. She has an instinctual sympathy for him. “Bingo. Tony, should we give him the new suit now?”, she proposed in excitement. Peter’s eyes widened. “There’s a  _new_  suit??”, he almost shouted.

Tony shook his head. “Y/N, don’t encourage him! You’re not coming”, he stated, pointing a threatening finger against Peter. “But-”, the boy tried to insist, but Tony was adamantine. “I said no, it’s too dangerous”.

Strange stepped in, looking at Tony. “I’m sorry, I’m confused about the relationship here. Who is he,  _your ward?_ ”, he scoffed. Peter was a little taken aback by the question. “No, I’m- I’m Peter, by the way”, he held out his hand, and Strange shook it. “Doctor Strange”. Peter looked surprised. “Oh, we’re using our made-up names. Then I’m Spiderman”.

Tony rolled his eyes. “Go home, kid”. Peter groaned, exasperated. “I can’t be a friendly neighborhood Spiderman if there’s no neighborhood!”. Seeing Tony ’s perplexed face, he admitted: “Okay that didn’t make sense, but you know what I’m saying”. Tony exhaled sharply. “Okay”, he conceded.

Bucky raised an eyebrow. “Really, Tony? He’s a kid”. Y/N peered up at him. He wasn’t doubting Peter’s worth, he was genuinely concerned because he knew what was like to be a kid thrown into a war. She squeezed his hand tenderly.

Steve was staring at Bucky as well. After a moment, he sighed. “We need all the help we can get, Buck. We’ll keep him on the sidelines”, he added, trying to reassure his friend. Bucky gave a small nod.

Y/N pouted at Steve. “Wait wait wait! You’re making him an Avenger without even consulting the rest of the team?! I have some questions for the boy”, she protested. Steve rolled his eyes. He knew her too well to recognize when she was playing around. “Go ahead. I have phone calls to make", he consented before he walked away.

Peter was glancing at Y/N rather nervously. His attempt to appear all cool and professional was utterly cute, she had to bite down her lip not to smile.

“Tell me… Do you talk to spiders?”, she inquired. “What?”, he stared at her in confusion. She explained the question with a huff. “Are your powers, in any way, related to communication with spiders? Do you, like, give them orders and they follow you into battle?”. He hesitated for a moment. “Uhm, no”. “So you’re basically just a kid with some superhuman reflexes and enhanced strength”. He pondered the description for a moment. “Yes”, he confirmed nervously. Y/N smirked. “And the most you can do is swinging around buildings with synthetic webs”. He tried to find a good reply but failed. “Well, uhm… I guess so?”.

She clasped her hands together. “Fantastic. You’re in!”, and Peter couldn’t look more confused. “What?”. She shrugged. “I know Ant-Man actually communicates with ants. And I’m not a fan of spiders”. His forehead was still creased.

“I thought there would’ve been more questions”. She gave him a playful punch on the shoulder and smiled. “Dude, I already helped Tony making you a new super suit. Plus, I’m a fan, I know what you did in the past year”, she complimented with a wink. He blushed a bit but was quite pleased as he grinned back at her.

“On another note”, Wong interrupted them, “what is he doing here?”. He gestured at Loki. Peter’s eyes widened as he noticed the demigod for the first time. “Yeah, aren’t you one of the bad guys?!”. Loki smirked. “Depends on who you ask”. “Which is exactly what a bad guy would say”, observed Strange. Behind him, Val chuckled.

The boy seemed thoughtful for a second then he offered his hand. “Well, it’s, uh, nice to meet you, Mr. Loki, sir”. He had spoken real fast, nervously. “I’m sorry, I’ve never met a god before…I’ve no idea what the proper title is”. The God of Mischief stared at his hand for a moment, his expression unreadable. Then shook it, without saying a word. But Y/N could’ve sworn she had seen the corners of the man’s mouth curling into the ghost of a smile.

“Don’t you get any strange ideas, Macbeth”, Tony’s voice came from an armchair on the other side of the room. He was glaring at Loki. “Stay away from the kid”. And for one with such a good poker face, the Asgardian struggled a bit too much to restrain himself from bursting into laughter. Y/N had clearly spoken the truth about Stark and his adopted son.


	11. Part 11

The mystic atmosphere of the New York Sanctum was ruined by Peter Parker’s gleeful voice. Since Steve’s phone call was taking longer than expected and the odd group composed by Y/N, Bucky, Tony, the two Asgardians, Peter Parker, and the wizards didn’t exactly seem at ease, he probably felt the need to break the silence. Besides, it was a golden opportunity.

He was full of curiosities about his new suit, which Y/N was happy to satisfy. Then it was Bucky’s turn. He had already met the boy once, during the airport fight of two years before. But now that they were on the same team, the boy was much more inclined to question the super soldier about his “insanely cool Terminator arm”. Bucky’s usual brooding expression was ruined by the boyish grin on his face, as Peter rambled in excitement.

Even Val and Loki had to endure their fair share of questions, mostly about the Nine Realms and their godlike abilities. After all, both the Valkyries and the Norse deities were legendary. That’s when Y/N had found out that Val’s real name was Brunnhilde. 

“I thought that since I’m the last of the Valkyries, I must carry their name”, shrugged the woman.

After a handful of minutes, just when both Peter and Y/N were interrogating Strange and Wong about their mystic arts, Steve returned. His phone was still in his hand. 

“Nat says they were attacked as well. They’re fine, just a bit bruised”, he added before anyone could interrupt him, “Friday’s security system alerted them, so they were prepared. Two enemies, one’s dead and the other escaped”, he announced. “And I talked to Rhodey. He’s trying to convince the Secretary to let us intervene but it’s not easy. Officially, this fight never happened”. He sounded bitter but was trying to hide it.

“Anything else?”, pressed Tony. 

Steve stared back at the man. “He said that he’ll buy us time to do what we have to do”. 

Tony nodded briefly. “It’s enough, for now. Let’s just wait for the others and figure out what to do”.

Strange, who had silently observed the exchange, magically summoned some chairs and a coffee table with enough glasses for everyone. “I suppose I could offer you something to drink”. 

Val grinned brightly. “About time!”.

As everybody took a seat and sipped their beverages, Val threw herself on the chair in front of Y/N’s. The two had chatted a bit the night before and got along surprisingly well. “So what’s the deal with your powers? That was some pretty hardcore stunt you pulled”, she marveled.

Peter nodded furiously in agreement. “Yeah, you were awesome! And how your wound healed in a second- wow, super cool!”. 

Y/N chuckled at his excitement. “Thanks”. 

Surprisingly, Strange took part in the conversation as well. “I have to say, I’m quite curious myself. Your abilities are impressive. What is exactly their nature?”.

Y/N sank into her chair before explaining in her best teaching voice: “It’s called energy assimilation. Basically, I can transmute any form of matter into energy and absorb that energy. Once absorbed, I’m able to manipulate it in several ways”.

Strange smirked. “That’s how you kept sending back the attacks”. 

“Yes, I can expel the energy offensively and defensively. It’s not a mere projection of the attack. I can amplify its power by adding more energy. In other words, if you throw me a punch I could return the hit to you with the strength of, let’s say, a grenade”.

Loki was looking at her in curiosity. “And I’m guessing your healing uses the same principle”, he stated, and she hummed in response. 

“Fascinating”, commented Strange, “You use the raw energy you assimilate to recreate the damaged or lost tissues”. 

“Precisely”.

The man shook his head in disbelief. “But that would make you basically immortal! You said you can extract energy from any form of matter, which means there’s no end to your source of power”. 

Her head rolled back with laughter. “That’s only theoretically true. Even my power has its limits”.

Loki cocked an eyebrow, skeptical. “Like what?”. 

She turned to him, a playful glint in her eyes. “Now you sound as if you’re trying to find my weak spot to kill me”. 

He sniggered. “Would that work?”. 

She replied with a snort, before shaking her head and resuming her explanation. “Well, first of all, if too much energy is used at once, I can end up overcharged or even wounded”.

At her side, Bucky frowned slightly. “For real? You didn’t tell me that”, he complained, but she shrugged. 

“Wasn’t relevant. Anyhow, this kind of power requires a great concentration to stay in control. Once I release it, it’s easy to get distracted and destruct everything in sight”.

She paused for a second, but Bucky was the only one to notice the nervousness behind her stoic expression. However, she continued nonchalantly. “But when I’m not using it, it becomes sort of inactive”. 

“So you can switch it on and off? Like a computer?”, questioned Peter, and she shook her head. 

“It’s a bit more complicated than that. I’d say it’s more of a stand-by mode if you wanna keep the analogy”.

“So you could be immortal only if you used your powers constantly”, observed Strange. 

She went thoughtful for a moment, before replying. “I suppose I could live for a long time, but I doubt I could go as far as immortal”. 

Peter nodded in understanding. “Even though the energy is infinite, doesn’t mean your ability to use it is too”.  

She smiled at him, almost proudly. Tony was right, he was really smart, especially considered his age. “Exactly. For now, my aging is merely slowed… not that I’m complaining. Also, my body’s constantly reverting to its healthy state, thanks to my quick metabolism, and my stamina’s nigh-inexhaustible”.

Peter was the first to react to her words. “Wait, you mean- you can eat whatever you want without gaining weight?! That’s the dream”, he marveled, looking at her like she was the most incredible being he could ever encounter. 

She cackled. “God, FINALLY! Someone who can acknowledge the true potential of my abilities”, she praised him. The conversation about her powers went on, while Y/N got lost in thought…

**_[FLASHBACK- 1.5 years before]_ **

_“This works”, states Bucky all of a sudden. It’s past midnight, but he and Y/N are both awake so they’ve decided to play poker._

_“If you’re referring to your game strategy, I must object”, she comments, observing her cards._

_He laughs. “No, doll, I wasn’t talking about you cheating and winning at poker”. She innocently glanced at him through her lashes, and he rolls his eyes in amusement._

_“I was talking about us”._

_She frowns, confused. “Us?”._

_“Hate to break it to you sweetheart, but we’ve been in a relationship for a couple months, now”, he remarks with a raised brow._

_She grunts, playfully kicking his leg. “Please, James, can you be even more annoying? I can’t get enough of it, it’s such a turn on”, she retorts sarcastically. He chuckles, but she presses him. “Quit being cryptic and explain, would you?”. So he does._

_“I meant, now that it’s been a few months, we can all agree that this works. We work. Together”._

_Her sassy smirk melts into a tender smile. “We do”, she confirms, motioning for him to go on._

_The corners of his mouth quirk up. “Good. Cause I’d be lost without you, babygirl. I love you so goddamn much”, he confesses, his eyes bored into hers._

_She tilts her head. “I’m yours, James. But what is it you’re trying to say? I can feel this is not your point”, she insists._

_She can always see right through him. Bucky sighs. “I just- I trust you, more than anyone. I told you anything about my past, even the darkest things, the one I had sworn to myself I would’ve brought into my grave”._

_He can see her panic as she understands where the conversation is going and tries to stop him, but he cuts her out. “Let me finish, Y/N”, he begs, and eventually she nods._

_He resumes. “I’m not trying to guilt you into telling me about your past, I would never do that, you know I wouldn’t. And I’m aware of the fact that you’ve already shared with me more than you’ve ever done with anyone. What I’m trying- well, what I’m failing to say, is that you took all of me and you loved the parts of me I hated the most. I resemble a human being only cause you picked up the pieces and put me back together”._

_He pauses, searching for the right words. “I know you’re stronger than me and can pick up your own pieces, you don’t need me for that. But I’m here for the day you decide to let me love all of you. Ya hear me, doll?”, he husks, his eyes never leaving hers._

_Slowly, she puts the cards down. That night she decides to try something, and trust someone entirely._

_She starts narrating in a quiet tone. “I once told you my father used to train me in combat. That’s not entirely true. John wasn’t my father… he was a SHIELD agent assigned by Fury to guard me. My real parents abandoned me when I was little, as soon as they realized I wasn’t normal”, she scoffs at the last word._

_She doesn’t cry. Her voice trembles with anger, more than anything else. But he knows she’s suffering, he can see that in her eyes._

_“I’m sorry”, Bucky murmurs, but she shakes her head._

_“It’s okay, really. Blood is overrated. He was like a father to me, he cared about me. His orders were to keep me alive and train me, but he always tried to make me feel happy and normal”._

_“What happened to him?”, he asks, and she sighs._

_“Ironically, although he had quite the dangerous job, living with me and all, he died of cancer. I was 17”._

_“What did you do?”._

_She shrugs. “I kept studying, kept working. Then Steve found me and my life became an episode of a superhero version of The Brady Bunch”, she chuckles._

_She fixes her eyes in Bucky’s, before speaking again. “I mean it when I say that blood isn’t important. We’re a bunch of highly dysfunctional people, but we’re a family here”. He ponders her words, and can’t help but agree._

_Y/N breaks the silence with a sigh. “But this isn’t what I was gonna tell you”. Her smile fades as she stares at the man she loves. “I want you to know why SHIELD felt the need to assign one of their best agents as my babysitter”. She inhales deeply. “When I was little…”, she starts to remember, and the words begin to flow relentlessly._

_When she was 7 years old, a man who lived nearby her orphanage had seen her falling by the swing and badly injuring her knee. She was a kid, so she wasn’t able to control her powers. When he had gotten closer to see if she was okay, the blood was gone and the cut was healing inexplicably. That’s when he decided she had to be eliminated._

_“I guess he was scared”, observes Y/N. “People are often scared of what they cannot understand. He probably thought nobody would’ve believed him, and that it was better to take care of the little monster himself”. Bucky feels a way too familiar feeling in his chest. He wants to do something, he wants to take revenge for her and hurt whoever laid a hand on her._

_She continues to speak, incapable to stop._

_The man had broken into her room and tried to stab her in her sleep. But she was awake. A seven-year-old who opens her eyes and sees a man with a knife approaching her bed… Anyone would have frightened. Of course, in her case, the fear had triggered her powers. Until then, she was only able to heal very quickly. That night, however, she had discovered the most destructive side of her abilities._

_“It was a moment. I lost control… There was an explosion, a big one. I panicked, I think I didn’t even know that it was me who was causing it. A while later I was being carried outside by a firefighter, unharmed”. Her words come out in a whisper._

_“He died”, says Bucky, talking about her attacker. It isn’t a question._

_“Not just him, James”. She sounds exhausted, her young face suddenly heavy under the weight of years that don’t belong to her. “I burnt down the whole building. They called it a gas leak, but it was me, I had done that”._

_Silent tears start sliding down her cheeks. “23 victims, 18 of which were children”. Her voice breaks._

_“Doll…” he takes her in his arms and squeezes her, almost painfully._

_Now she’s sobbing uncontrollably. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry”, she keeps repeating like a mantra._

_He just holds her until she’s calm, stroking her hair and humming a melody he remembers from his childhood. “I know, baby. I know you are”. If anyone can understand, that’s him._

_*****************************_

Y/N’s memory was abruptly interrupted by a warm hand squeezing her leg. She raised her head to meet Bucky’s blue eyes. “Hey”, he murmured, and she smiled at his tender voice. 

“Hey”. 

He studied her expression for a moment. “I owe you an apology”.

The statement caught her off guard, and she gave him a blank face. He scratched his neck, sheepishly. “Today I was a moron. When I saw you injured I lost it, I-”. Her soft giggle prevented him from finishing.

“James, are you seriously apologizing for going full-on crazy as you thought I was dying?”, she shook her head, grinning in disbelief, her beautiful locks fluttering. “If anything my ego was a bit pleased by your reaction. Also, if it was me in your shoes, I would’ve probably done way worse”.

His eyes lit up for the amusement. “Can’t say I doubt it, babydoll. But anyway, I exaggerated. I freaked out and I’m sorry”. 

She smirked mischievously. “Actually, you were kinda sexy… All enraged and aggressive for your girlfriend”, she purred. 

He chuckled, and the sound escaping his lips was so low it was almost a growl. “I’ll keep that in mind”, he whispered, leaving a soft peck on her head.

The two were distracted from the new voices which were now echoing through the room. “Sorry for being late, guys. I saw you had fun as well”, greeted Nat, hinting at the half-destroyed spaceship outside. 

“Yeah, I think I won’t be having donuts for a while”, grunted Sam. Behind them, Wanda and Vision smiled.

Y/N plastered a wide grin on her face. “How were your aliens? Because ours have been deadly annoying. And I had to do all the job, as usual”. That made Sam laugh. 

Bucky joined, snorting. “That’s not how I recall it, dollface, but whatever you say”. She stuck out her tongue, as he grimaced.

Now that everyone was there, they could finally discuss their course of action. “We haven’t been able to contact Scott, and Clint house is surveyed so he cannot reach us at the moment”, informed Nat.

“There’s no telling about our timeline, but Thanos is coming. We have two of the six stones, we have to protect them”, Steve summarized for everyone. 

Vision took a deep breath and glanced at Wanda before speaking. “I think we should destroy them. It’s possible, we just have to-”.

“That’s out of question”. Oddly enough, it hadn’t been Wanda the first to object, but Strange. “I swore an oath to protect the Time Stone, I won’t let anyone destroy it”. 

“Sacred oaths aside, it wouldn’t make any sense, Vis”, pointed out Y/N. “Thanos is already too powerful for us, the only chance we have to beat him is with the help of the Stones in our possession. You’d sacrifice over nothing”. Her words were met by a long silence.

Then Tony spoke. “All right. We protect the stones. But even so, I don’t think having the Mind stone attached to Vision is a good idea. If anything goes wrong and we have no choice but to destroy it, we would be killing him, too”.

“I was thinking the same thing”, agreed Steve. 

“We could take it out”, suggested Bruce. 

Tony stared at him. “How? We can’t do something like that, not here”. 

Y/N met Steve’s gaze, and she knew they were both thinking the same thing. “I know a place”, Steve stated. He told them about Wakanda and how they had helped out with Bucky. 

“This might work”, muttered Tony, to no one in particular. No one disagreed, so they immediately contacted king T’Challa.

**********************************************************************

Less than two hours later, they were all on the jet, directed to Wakanda. Y/N made her way towards Steve, who was gazing out of the windows, lost in his thoughts. He flinched when she touched his shoulder. “You’re avoiding me”, she smiled. 

He clenched his jaw. “Don’t be crazy”. 

She peered up at his expression. “Are you angry with me, Steve?”, she insisted.

Eventually, his head snapped. “Of course I am, Y/N”, he blurted out. “You risked your life for me, today”. 

She scoffed. “Oh, please. We both knew I could heal”. 

He was fuming. “We didn’t! We don’t know the extent of your powers. You weren’t sure you could survive, but you took the risk anyway. Do you have any idea of how I would’ve felt if you died? Huh?”. Steve was struggling to keep his voice down.

“The expression on Bucky’s face… Christ, Y/N, did you think for a moment how devastated I would’ve been, knowing that one of my best friends had died to save me? Knowing that Buck’s chance to be finally happy had gone for good because of me?”.

She sighed. “Be honest with yourself, Steve. You’re only mad because you don’t like needing others, and today if it weren’t for me, you could’ve died. You think you always have to do everything by yourself… Captain America, always the hero. You’re the leader of a team, but sometimes you act like you’re a lone vigilante”. He opened his mouth and closed it again, speechless, so she went on.

“If it was the other way around, you wouldn’t have hesitated to give your life for me. And you wouldn’t have thought twice about how much I would’ve hated myself. You think and talk as Captain America, but…”, she added locking her eyes into his blue irises. “I’m Steve Rogers’s friend. And I like when he’s alive, thank you very much”, she chuckled. His breath had calmed as she spoke.

“Don’t you fucking dare saving my life ever again, Y/N Y/L/N, or I swear to God…”, he growled menacingly, closing her in a bear hug. 

“Is that how you talk to a lady, Rogers? No wonder you can’t get laid”, she taunted. 

“No, that’s how I talk to annoying morons whom I love very much, princess”. She giggled, the joyful sound muffled against his jacket. 

From a corner of the jet, Bucky smiled.


	12. Part 12

[Originally posted by damngoodname](https://tmblr.co/ZhGKlg281f9gb)

The quinjet kept lowering towards the trees, as dawn’s first light illuminated Wakanda with warm sunbeams. Sam tightened his grip on the control wheel, worried. “I really hope you’re right about this, Cap, or this is gonna be a rough landing”.

Behind him, Steve was gazing outside the windscreen, his brow furrowed. Apart from Tony and Vision, who sat in silence, they were the only ones awake in the jet, so the air was dense with ghosting concern. “T’Challa’s instructions were clear”, started Steve. “He said to aim for the trees and-”.

The man stopped mid-sentence, widening his eyes in awe. They had just crossed what appeared to be a hologram that hid the true nature of Birnin Zana, the capital city. In front of them stood the buildings of the Golden City in all their glory. It looked like it was a scene painted straight from the future, a future none could’ve ever imagined.

“Damn… And I thought the Facility was cool”, commented Sam, unable to close his mouth.

“Yet I’ve never  _once_  heard you complaining, these past two years”, remarked Tony glaring at him.

Following T’Challa’s directions, they aimed for the Royal Palace. As soon as the quinjet touched the airstrip, the rest of the Avengers was now awake and everyone was studying the new surroundings with much curiosity. Bucky marveled. He had been to lots of places but this, this was nothing like anything he had ever seen. When the door opened and they marched outside, king T’Challa was already making his way towards them, accompanied by a couple of guards, a fierce-looking woman armed with a spear and-

“SHURI!”. Y/N’s excited shriek caught anyone by surprise, especially Steve, who flinched and then gave her a disapproval glance. But she was already running to greet the Wakandan princess. Bucky chuckled, patting his best friend on the shoulder. They should’ve seen that coming.

“Captain Rogers. Stark. It’s good to see you”, greeted the king as he shook Tony and Steve’s hands. “Welcome to Wakanda”. Y/N and Shuri’s giggles echoed through the air. If one ignored for a second the fact that the world was on the verge of the end, it was almost too easy to give in to their enthusiasm. T’Challa glanced at them and shook his head, but he was smiling. He met Bucky’s eyes. “Sergeant Barnes. You look well”.

Bucky was about to reply, but he was cut off by Shuri. “Damn right, he does. Fixing broken white boys is my specialty!”.

Snorting in amusement, Bucky flashed a broad grin at the girl. “How’re ya doing, Shuri? It’s been a while”.

“I’m sorry to interrupt this nice reunion”, stepped in Tony, “but we don’t have much time”.

“Stark’s right”, intervened Stephen. It had taken a while before they could convince him to join them, but he and Wong had finally agreed to leave New York and stay with the group (not before securing the Sanctum with a considerable number of defensive spells).

“I can’t believe you agreed with me on something”, commented Tony, at which Steve rolled his eyes in annoyance.

“Very well”, concorded T’Challa. “Follow me”. As he guided them inside the Palace, he asked: “How big of an assault do we expect?”.

Stumbling on his feet, Bruce intervened. “Uhm, sir? Sir, I think you should expect quite a big assault. I saw Thanos’s army… It was terrifying to behold, and it was only a part of it”.

Bruce’s ominous words were met by a brief silence before Nat spoke to T’Challa. “How are we looking?”

“You’ll have my King’s Guard, the Border Tribe, and the Dora Milaje”, he replied, motioning at the woman by his side, who nodded.

Tony peered at him. He was being oddly quiet. “Thank you for what you’re doing for us- for what you’ve done”.

T’Challa pondered upon his words for a moment, before replying in his usual calm tone. “This is not just about you, not anymore. This war concerns us all, and the only way of winning is  _together_ ”.

They reached some sort of briefing room, and almost everyone took a seat around the oval table. Shuri, instead, together with Vision, Wanda, and Bruce, excused herself and left in order to analyze the Mind Stone and find a way to remove it. T’Challa studied the remaining faces, before speaking once again. “You said we don’t have much time. How much time are talking about, precisely?”.

Tony glanced at Stephen, before answering. “We don’t know. Thanos sent two teams to retrieve the two Stones in our possession. We killed half of his faithful minions, so  _hopefully_ , we slowed him down”.

“But not enough”, intervened Nat. “He’s coming”

“Wait, Thor said that the rest of Rocket and Groot’s friends were going to- where was it?”, said Y/N.

“Knowhere”, suggested Loki, and she thanked him with a nod.

“Yeah, Knowhere, to stop Thanos from taking the Reality Stone from that Collector dude. How do we know whether they succeeded or not?”

Steve sighed. “We don’t. We’ll just have to trust them”.

“Or you can just assume they failed”, scoffed Loki. “I doubt they could pull that off, they’re idio-”.

A vigorous punch from Val made him shut up, and she glanced at the group. “Except, we actually can contact them and ask them. I know how, but I could use some help”, she said, staring at Loki who raised his eyebrows.

“He’s not leaving my sight”, growled Tony, “so I guess I’m coming with you”.

“Nonsense, Tony. He’s the God of Mischief, if he wanted to betray us he could do it in plain sight and you would never see it coming”, shrugged Y/N, glancing at Loki. He smirked at her words. “He won’t, though, ‘cause we’re his best chance to stay alive. Am I right?”.

Loki tilted his head, a playful glint in his eyes. “You don’t expect  _me_  to repeat those words, do you? I’d rather die than admit something  _so shameful_ ”.

When everybody agreed, Val and Loki left, followed by some very reluctant Nat and Sam (“Just to be safe”, Steve had said”), in order to try and communicate with the Guardians and Thor.

Tony clapped his hands together. “Fine, another problem solved. Now, I still think we should destroy the Stone”.

Stephen’s eyes narrowed. “No can do, Stark. I protect the Stone, that is my oath”.

“Tony, we talked about this. We agreed to-”, started Steve impatiently.

“No, Steve, we didn’t agree. I only consented before because it was the only way to bring him here”, snapped Tony, hinting at Stephen. “But without the Time Stone, Thanos can’t win. We need to destroy it while we can”.

“He’s still too powerful for us, Tones”, corrected him Nat in a calm tone, but Steve was already charging in anger.

“Now’s not the time, Tony! We already discussed this, and we made a decision. It’s irrelevant whether you’re happy about it or not. Right now we need to plan for the battle. We don’t have the numbers, but with a good strategy we can limit our losses”.

“ _Limit our losses_? These aren’t even _our_  losses, Steve”, Tony hissed through gritted teeth. “How did you react when Vision proposed to destroy the Stone and himself with it? You said we don’t trade lives, but now that’s what you’re doing. I mean, listen to yourself! It’s not chess pieces you’re talking about, it’s people, real people. I’m talking about preventing the losses. With the two stones gone, Thanos is vulnerable, and once he is you can elaborate a strategy to kill him. That should be the plan, preventing the fight!”.

The unspoken tension that had remained silent during the last two years was now exploding all at once, and Tony’s anger poisoned the air. And Steve was no better. He was livid, his nostrils flared as he stared at one of his best friends as if he couldn’t have asked better than to punch him.

“Always the planner,  _huh_ , Tony? Always fighting the battles before they happen. How did that work out so far? Or have you forgotten Ultron?”, spit out, Steve. If Tony had managed to keep the volume down, Steve wasn’t even trying. His voice boomed in the room, merciless. “You think, and think, and think. But while you do so, people die. Sometimes you can’t plan for the long-term, Tony. Sometimes you have to act before you think because there’s no other way”.

Tony’s voice raised as well. “Yeah, sure you think so. You keep throwing yourself in things you don’t understand without thinking like you did the last time! If I hadn’t stopped and thought, you’d be in jail”.

Steve let out an empty laugh. “ _For real_ , Tony? You wanna talk about this  _again_? If you hadn’t signed those fucking accords, we wouldn't…”. The shouting kept growing in volume as their argument became heated, their faces reddened and veins popping out of their necks, and T’Challa and the others’ attempts to make them stop were useless.

“Y/N! You have to make them stop”, begged Bucky in a preoccupied whisper. She met his blue eyes, full of concern and pain. He knew it was partially his fault that this was happening. Before him, Tony and Steve would’ve trusted each other with their lives.

She reassured by squeezing his arm. “On it”. Grabbing a flower vase from the corner of the room, she threw it on the floor. Shatters of glass flew anywhere. The loud crash caught the two men’s attention, and there was silence for a moment. Until Y/N started shouting.

“About time you two shut up! What’s gotten into you?! ’ _I’m Captain America, I’m so righteous I can’t be wrong!_ ’, ’ _But I’m Ironman, my dick is bigger!_ ’“, she mocked in an uncanny imitation of the two.

Bucky and Peter exchanged a glance. The boy had only met her a few hours before, but it was clear that Y/N was unstoppable when she started monologuing. And a bit terrifying, to be honest.

She went on. “Nobody cares about Ultron or the Accords, right now. It’s in the past”. She marched towards them and pointed a menacing finger against Steve’s chest. “You, you didn’t even try to talk to Tony when you thought James was innocent. Sure, he would’ve probably shot you in the face ‘cause you were acting like a moron, but you could’ve at least tried. And you didn’t tell him about his parents’ death, which was horrible. You screwed up, big time. I love you like a brother, Steve, you know I do, but if it weren’t for James I would’ve sided with Tony”. Steve’s guilty eyes fell on his feet. "And you”, she turned to Tony, “You blamed James from the start when he was just another HYDRA’s victim. You didn’t hesitate, you just went straight to take him without contemplating other options, which for someone who claims to be a genius was a pretty dumb move”. Tony stayed quiet as if waiting for the storm to pass.

Two grown men who were about to bite each other just a moment before were now looking like two children scolded by their mum. Y/N chewed her lip to prevent herself from burst out laughing. “See? You know you were both wrong. It happens, that’s what being humans mean. You both had your reasons. Cool reasons, still wrong. It’s okay, as long as you quit acting like babies and you start being nice to each other, ‘cause apparently, we’re at war. There’s only one person who can be always right, and you know who that is, don’t you?”, she smiled.

Steve sighed. “God”.

Y/N immediately frown at his answer. “What? No, I was talking about me”, she scoffed, earning a series of chortles.

When Tony and Steve met her gaze, Y/N spoke again, but this time her voice was calm and almost sweet. “Look, when you were about to make peace, Zemo gave you a reason to fight each other. Because  _he knew_  that once you two started your personal war, there wouldn’t be any Avengers Assemble, not anymore. The only thing that stands between Earth and whoever might threaten it, is you. I’m not the Avengers. Remove me and you’ll find someone else. But you two, there are no Avengers without you. The world needs you to act less like assholes and more like mighty heroes”. Despite the insults, her tone was so sincere they couldn’t help but eat out of her hand.

She gestured vaguely at the sky. “As far as I understand, there’s a giant intergalactic threat on its way. And it’s a big purple monster who has a kink for mass murder and yields the power of the most powerful artifacts in the whole universe.  _God_ , it’s like the plot of a bad sci-fi movie…, she muttered to herself before continuing, and Peter nodded vigorously in agreement. “Now, my brilliant mind calculates the odds. And the probabilities say we’re all gonna die. But, we will die wearing fine superhero costumes”. Even Tony couldn’t stop himself from chuckling.

Steve glanced at him. “I don’t know about you, Tony, but that sounds good enough to me”. He smiled at his friend, and it was genuine.

After a moment, Tony smirked back and nodded. “Guess I should’ve realized by now since I spend most of the time thinking about our death”.

“Big mood, Mr. Stark”, commented Peter, and Tony rolled his eyes.

With a broad grin, Bucky stared at Steve. “Well then, can you two morons please bury the ax?”

The men looked at each other, almost reluctantly. Then, they finally shook their hands and hugged. Tony turned to face Y/N, as Steve patted her on the back. “Great pep talk, kiddo. You should do the pep talks from now on”.

Her eyes lit up. “Thank you! I would love that”.

“ _But don’t you imitate me ever again_ ”, he cut her off in a threatening growl. She pouted.

“I, for me, think it was a remarkable impression”, intervened Friday’s disembodied voice. Y/N gave Tony a smug smile. “Friday liked it”.

In all response, Tony gave her a death glare. “Don’t make me replace you, Friday”.

At that moment, the door opened, and Val and the others appeared.


	13. Part 13

[Originally posted by tonylovedaily](https://tmblr.co/ZIlQ0b2aMY50f)

Loki and Val’s voices were the only sounds in the room, as everybody listened intently at what they were saying. After a few attempts, they managed to contact Thor, who had just arrived on Nidavellir. As Y/N understood, Thanos had exterminated those who lived there, all except one, right after he had forced them to build him the gauntlet capable of holding the power of the six gems.

In order to obtain his new weapon, Stormbreaker, Thor now had to restart the forges of Nidavellir, which literally meant that he was about to take the full force of a star. The risk was huge, even for a demigod. For that reason, he couldn’t join them yet.

The worry was written all over their faces… without Thor, the chances of winning a fight dropped significantly.

And there was an even more alarming news: the Guardians had failed to retrieve the Reality Stone before Thanos, and now he had it, along with one of their own named Gamora. According to Rocket, Gamora’s sister Nebula, who was a prisoner on Thanos’s ship, managed to escape and was about to meet the Guardians. Together they were coming to Wakanda, to help with the incoming battle.

“That’s a good news, I suppose”, commented Steve, tiredly rubbing his forehead. “It’s not ideal, but at least we’ll have some help”. No one dared to disagree, but they were all running low on hope. They needed a miracle if they wanted to save the Universe.

Tony was the first to snap out of his haze. “All right, we can only worry about one thing at a time. Let’s split up and do what we do best: Parker, you find Vision and see if Shuri needs some help with removing the Mind Stone”. Peter nodded and rushed out. “Steve, you’re the military mind. Stay with king T’Challa and plan the defense”.

Both Steve and T’Challa got up, exchanging a glance. Steve scanned the room. “Sam, Bucky, Nat, and Val with me. I could use some help”. Then the man stared at Tony. “What are you going to do?”.

“We’re gonna try to find a way to beat Thanos”, sighed Tony.

After a brief moment of silence, Steve chuckled. “Well, don’t mess up. Good luck”. With that, he and the others left the room, following T’Challa and Okoye. Bucky flashed a faint smile at Y/N before he exited the door.

Once they were gone, everyone left in the room fixed their eyes on Tony, expectantly.

“Why are you all staring at me? I said we were gonna try and find a way”, he exclaimed pointed at the group and then himself, “I didn’t say I’ve already come up with a plan!”

Strange scoffed. “Fantastic. The one time we’re all on board with letting you boss us around…”

“Speak for yourself, wizard”, snarked Loki, and Y/N had to kick him under the table to make him shut up.

Rolling his eyes, Tony started to lay down the facts. “Okay, we know that Thanos has three stones, so we don’t stand a chance if he decides to use them, which he will do. Our primary goal is to separate him from the gauntlet, and it’s vital that we-”.

Y/N got lost in her thoughts, as Tony and the others went on. Their voices could barely reach her, as she pondered on the problem. Even if they managed to prevent Thanos from using the gems, he was still a formidable enemy alone. This only meant one thing. They needed a formidable power in order to steal the gauntlet from him.

She glanced over the other side of the table, where the discussion had yet to reach an end. Everyone was doing their best to come up with a decent idea, something that could actually work, but even Tony and Strange were lost. Loki was gritting his teeth, the fear barely visible behind his scowl.

Sighing, Tony shook his head. “The point is, how can we be sure that it’ll work? I mean, if we had Thor maybe he could do it, but I don’t think any of us could do it without risking their lives, not even Wanda”.

“But all of us can”. Y/N had been so quiet till then, that when she spoke they almost jumped.

Tony frowned at her words. “Yes, but we need a perfect plan if we have to work in sync. That’s exactly what we’ve been talking about for the last 20 minutes, kid. Need a recap?”

The woman shook her head with a chuckle and stared back at him. “What if we don’t really need to coordinate?”

“What are you saying, exactly?”. Strange was narrowing his eyes, suspicious. The whole room’s attention was on her. They were breathing so silently as if they didn’t dare to make a sound.

“I’m saying”, she articulated, “What if we could concentrate all of our powers into one person, and that person would then attack Thanos?”

There was a split second of confusion before her words reached Tony. “No. Absolutely not, Y/N. It’s nuts, you’re gonna kill yourself!”

Y/N sighed, trying to remain calm. She expected that, especially from Tony. But it was the best option they had, at the moment. “I can do it, Tones. If you all direct your attacks on me, I can-”

“I thought you said there were risks”, stated Strange, cocking an eyebrow skeptically.

“There are”. Y/N threw herself back in the chair, closing her eyes for a moment as if to gather her thoughts. “Several, and possibly fatal. But they’re risks we must- well, I must take. If all our plans fail, I cannot let Thanos win”. She sounded way more confident than she was. Not because she didn’t believe that would work, but for the opposite reason: she was sure that all of their powers combined were enough to beat Thanos. And she also knew that her probability to survive was next to nothing.

The group spent the following minutes arguing. Tony was still trying to change her mind, so Strange had to intervene. “I’m not saying this should be our main strategy. Let’s call it a plan B. If we have no other choice…”. Eventually, even Tony had to give up. But he kept looking at Y/N like she had betrayed him somehow.

“One more thing”, added Y/N, nervously biting her lip. “You have to promise me that this won’t leave this room. Please.”.

“You wanna hide the plan from the others?”, frowned Loki. After all the talking about being a family and having each other’s back, he couldn’t believe that she of all people didn’t trust them.

Y/N shook her head, softly. “I don’t wanna”. The pain that was making its way through her chest made her voice tremble. “But if I become responsible for the fate of the Universe, I don’t want them to try and stop me. And they will, I know they will”.

“So you’re trying to hide this from Barnes”. Tony’s words weren’t harsh. His was merely an observation. But they hit her like a dozen knives, she could barely keep it together.

“N-no! I just-”

“Y/N… Don’t you think he deserves to know? If it even comes to this, and I pray to God it won’t, he has the right to know that the woman he loves wants to sacrifice herself. He deserves a chance to say goodbye. And so do others”.

Tony was right, she knew it. But the thought of telling Bucky, or Steve, or anyone else, was horrifying. And they probably would’ve forced her not to do it. They would have let half the Universe perish only because of her.

“Tony, I can’t. I can’t watch them in the eyes and tell them”, breathed out Y/N, silent tears running down her cheeks. “I don’t wanna die. I don’t wanna sacrifice my life, knowing how much pain it’ll cause to all the people I care about. These last few years with Bucky, with you all, made me so happy… and I don’t want to lose it all. But I see no other way. Thanos can’t win”.

She was staring at Tony as if they were the only two people in the room. And she knew he would’ve understood. In fact, he was probably the only one who could. And he did.

“All right, kiddo. I promise I won’t tell”


	14. Part 14

“Ah, the calm before the battle”, commented Bucky as he joined Y/N. She was standing next to the large window, gazing outside. “Some things never change”. Once the military plans were ready, the only thing they could do was waiting. And it was almost as excruciating as the actual fight about to happen.

Y/N didn’t move, nor she gave any sign of noticing him. She just kept staring at the window. “Wasn’t it ‘the calm before the  _storm_ ’?”, she breathed after a moment.

Bucky shrugged and glanced down at her. “You okay, doll? You look… worried”

A crease appeared on Y/N’s forehead when she raised an eyebrow. “Shouldn’t we  _all_  be worried? Why do you make it sound like  _I_ am the weird one?”

“Fair enough”, snorted Bucky, putting an arm around her shoulders to pull her closer. “But still, something’s wrong with you. What is it?”. His eyes refused to leave hers as if trying to read through her.

She let out a long sigh before speaking. “I’m fine, James. I’m just scared, it’s a war we’re talking about. We could lose everything before tomorrow. Aren’t you tired of fighting?”

He gave her an incredulous look. “ _Tired_? Doll, of course I’m tired! One way or another, I’ve been at war all my life. I’ve seen lots of good people die, some of them by my hand”. As he spoke his voice became almost a whisper. He had somehow learned to live with his present self, but the guilt and anger from his past were still there, haunting him, constantly ready to tear him apart.

Y/N remained silent for a moment, looking at her feet in shame. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that to you”, she muttered. “I say dumb things when I’m nervous”. When she risked looking up, he was shaking his head with a smile.

“It’s okay, Y/N. I’m just not used at comforting you, ya know… you’re usually the one who always sees the bright side of things”, he joked, hugging her tight.

There was a long pause. “What if there isn’t one?”. Her words came out in a murmur and were barely audible even in the quiet room.

Bucky frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Y/N bit down her lower lip, painfully trying to find the right words. “I let you love me, and I promised you that everything was gonna be fine and that we were gonna have a future together. What if those were just dreams, destined to turn into dust? I-”

“All right, stop, doll, stop!”, he cut her out as soon as he noticed her wet eyes. “Hey, look at me.  _Y/N, look at me_ ”. He was tilting her chin up, while tenderly stroking her cheek with his thumb. “You’re not gonna lose me. And there’s no way in hell I’m letting anyone take you away from me. I’ve waited a century to find you. Literally”, he chuckled, and she cracked a smile. “Seriously, what’s gotten into you?”

The woman shook her head, blinking frantically to fight back the tears. “It’s nothing, James. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you. It’s just- I love you. You know that, right?”. She bored her eyes into his and smiled up at him.

There was a hint of sadness in her expression, but it disappeared so quickly that Bucky blamed it on his imagination. “I know. I love you too”, he smirked, holding her face in his big hands. “I could use a kiss, though”, he suggested, giving her his infamous puppy eyes.

“ _God_ , you’re a dork”, laughed Y/N, before pressing her lips against his.

Bucky grinned. “I’m your dork”, he bragged, and she rolled her eyes in amusement.

****************

With a roaring noise that shook the earth, their stolen moment of peace was brusquely interrupted. It has been less than a couple of hours. Not nearly enough time.

Once they were outside, they saw them. At least a dozen ships had been launched from above. Some crashed against the protective dome that surrounded the city, but the majority of them landed outside, destroying everything that stood in their way.

“It’s time”, announced Steve. He and T’Challa were already on the head of the army, ready to fight. “Everyone, be ready”.

They couldn’t be more prepared than that, and yet, as the full legions of Thanos appeared, they realized they were tragically unprepared. The first to appear were the two members of the Black Order they didn’t kill, Cull Obsidian and Proxima Midnight. Then came the army. There were hundreds of thousands beastly monsters, and they kept coming.

The Avengers stared at the scene in horror. A dead silence reigned over Wakanda, only ruined by the growls of the aliens that tried to pass through the barrier. Many of them were killing themselves in doing so, but more and more kept coming.

When some of them started circling the barrier, in order to prevent them from reaching Vision before Shuri could remove the Stone, T’Challa realized there was only one way to keep the enemy in front of them…

“WAKANDA FOREVER!”. The chant of the Wakandan army cut the air, as the barrier opened, letting the enemy in.

Hordes of monsters charged against them, a howling mass of teeth and claws. Once the fight started, everything went into chaos. Everyone was fighting, with the exception of Vision, Shuri, and Bruce, since he still couldn’t transform. They were doing the best they could to remove the stone, but they needed as much time as possible. Even Wanda had left in order to join the others on the battlefield, and she immediately went for Proxima Midnight

Out of the corner of her eye, Y/N noticed Nat. She was on the ground, trying to fight off too many enemies at once. She was about to help her when an arrow pierced the heads fo two of the aliens that were trying to kill the redhead.

“Hey, guys. Miss me?”. There were a few grins as Rhodey and Clint joined, shooting from above.

Nat smirked, getting up after having killed the last monster next to her. “Just in time for the party, Barton”

The battles continued to rage, while the smell of blood and destruction filled the air. There was no way of telling who was winning. Sure, they were strong and they had each other back. And they could count on the Wakandan army and some pretty powerful allies, such as Loki, Brunnhilde, and Peter. But still, they couldn’t seem to get the upper hand. For every enemy they killed, ten more arrived. Thanos’s army appeared to be immense.

It was only after a while that a loud rumble got everybody’s attention. Black clouds assembled upon them, as if announcing a storm. The deadliest storm one could’ve ever imagined.

“NOW  _WHAT_?!”, shouted an exasperated Sam over the clamor of the battlefield.

They didn’t even have the time to process what was happening, when a mighty thunder hit the ground, killing several aliens at once. The flashing light disappeared to reveal Thor, together with Rocket and Groot.

Laughter and cheers resounded among the Avengers, who greeted their companion with huge grins despite the desperate situation.

Loki glanced at his brother, raising an eyebrow. “You’re late”

“ _Fashionably_ ”, remarked Thor, throwing his new ax against a bunch of monsters and disintegrating them. The two Asgardians exchanged a conspiratorial smile.

With Thor and the two Guardians on their side, the fight had become easier, but new ships had come and they still had too many enemies to kill. Luckily, both the members of the Black Orders had been eliminated, mostly thanks to Wanda and Tony.

“Shuri?”, called T’Challa, trying to get a hold of his sister.

Y/N heard her response through the ear-buds. “I’m done, brother! The stone has been remov-”. Suddenly her voice was cut off, and all they could hear was a clang in the background.

“Shuri? What’s happening?”. T’Challa’s voice was panicked. No response.

Steve was the first to react. “Somebody get to Vision!”, he commanded while keeping on fighting, though Wanda was already running towards the building.

She hadn’t covered more than ten yards when the something in the air shifted. The enemies started to act strangely.

“They’re… retreating?”, asked Bucky, confused.

Then, a portal opened in front of them. “Wait, who’s that?”

“That’s him”, growled Val, her expression ferocious as she raised her sword.

Thanos smirked. Five gems shined on his gauntlet, including Vision’s.

“FOR ASGARD!”, roared Thor, pouncing on him. There was a split second of indecisiveness, then everyone else followed the demigod. At the same time, Thanos’s army began to attack and chaos became the king of everything once again.

Everybody was giving their best, attacking the titan with all their strength while the Wakandan warriors fought off his army. Sam, Tony, Rhodey attacked from the above, while the others kept attacking him relentlessly with the help of the wizards and their portal. Peter tried to prevent Thanos from closing his hand by webbing him up, according to Tony’s plan.

For a moment, just a moment, Y/N thought they were going to win. They all did. They had somehow managed to block him, getting him in a corner. The next step was to take the gauntlet away from him and blowing it to hell. Wanda and Y/N shared a nod, preparing to attack.

“About time you morons showed up!”. Rocket’s greeting distracted Y/N. He was looking at someone behind her, but his smirk faded. Y/N felt pushed aside, as someone threw themselves against Thanos with a savage scream.

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?  _TELL ME_! WHERE’S GAMORA?”. The man, who they identified as one of the Guardians, was beating Thanos, while both his companions and Tony begged him to wait. But it was like he couldn’t even hear them. He was numb and desperate at the same time, and he had a look in his eyes… A look Y/N recognized immediately. That man was all pain and rage.

In a blink, they lost the advantage. Thanos used their distraction against them, as he freed himself and blasted them all in one shot, with just a movement of his hand. Y/N managed to absorb the impact, but when she looked around she realized she was almost the only one standing, along with Wanda. Most of the others were knocked out cold. Tony was helping Peter to his feet, while Steve groaned in pain from the ground. Bucky was on his knees, trying to get up.

Y/N’s eyes searched for Thanos and widened in horror. He was standing right in front of Strange, who didn’t have the strength to fight back. He couldn’t even stand. Once Thanos got his hands on the Time Stone, it was over for them and for the rest of the universe. This much was clear to Y/N.

She straightened up, glancing at Tony as if asking for permission, when in reality she was just asking for courage. It was kind of funny. She was ready to die since she was a little girl, she had made her peace with it. But now she had so much to lose, she couldn’t face death alone. Eventually, Tony nodded, clenching his jaw.

She stepped toward Thanos, while Wanda and the others who knew about plan B prepared to direct their best hit against her.

“ _Y/N!_ ”

She turned to see Bucky looking at her in confusion. “ _I’m sorry_ ”, she smiled as hot tears ran down her cheeks.

**************

_The last thing Y/N saw was Steve crying while holding Bucky, as he screamed and tried to run to her. Then, all became white._

_All around her, the world caught on fire._


	15. Part 15

[Originally posted by letowolfie](https://tmblr.co/ZZlVjm2Z7fThF)

When Y/N opened her eyes, it took her a moment to adjust to the bright light of-   _whatever_  place that was… It looked like a room, with white walls and ceiling. She could feel something soft and warm beneath her, like a mattress. She tried to move but failed. Her arms and legs felt numb, as if anesthetized.

“Here you are”. The soft voice coming from her side made her turn her head, just to see Bucky smiling from ear to ear.

Y/N stared at him for a moment. “… _Jesus_? That you?”

“Very funny”, grunted Bucky, bending over her to kiss her.

A small movement caused her to hiss in pain. “Ouch! This whole paradise thing’s a bummer! Why do I feel like crap?”

Her complaint made Bucky chuckle. “You’re not in paradise, yet, sweetheart. Though you’ve gone pretty close… You and I will have a  _little chat_ , later”, he growled, lowering his voice.

Y/N smirked, her eyes locked on his steel blue irises. “Damn, I’m gonna get spanked by Jesus”

“Oh, c’mon- for _real_?!”, groaned someone from the other side of the room. “You just woke up! Maybe we should’ve left you dead”, joked Steve, rushing to her bedside with a wide grin on his face.

“Hey, Steve’s here too. Who are you supposed to be? God? Or maybe just a lovely blond angel… Nah, you’d be naked and winged”. Steve cocked an eyebrow, but she turned to look at Bucky. “I’m really still alive, am I not?”

He caressed her face with a tender expression, silent. Then he nodded, slowly. “Afraid so, dollface. You’re stuck with me for another while”.

Y/N beamed, kissing the palm of his hand. “ _Jackpot_ ”

She was distracted by the sound of a door slamming. “Is she awake?”, shouted someone.

The loud scream echoed in Y/N’s head, more similar to the sound of a bad metal concert rather than a human voice. “Ugh, keep your voice down, please… I feel like a train ran over me. Like, 15 times. Is that what hangovers are like? Man, I don’t pity you poor simple humans”, she whined, squeezing her eyes shut.

“I see you haven’t lost your usual charm”, chuckled T’Challa, while at his side Shuri winked.

In a moment, almost everyone was there. Tony, Nat, Sam, Clint, Rhodes, the three Asgardians, Strange… the only ones missing were Wong, who had returned to guard the Sanctum, Peter, who apparently had to go home and explain  _quite a lot_  of things to his aunt, and the Guardians, who had already left the planet. But everybody else was there, smiling at Y/N, hugging her and joking with her in the crowded room. And at her side stood Bucky. She couldn’t even notice the pain anymore, she just felt safe and happy.

“Your vitals are good, you’ll start to feel better in a couple hours”, announced Shuri after a quick check. “Welcome back”

“Thanks, Shuri”, nodded Y/N with a grateful smile, before addressing the room. “Not that I’m complaining about, you know, not being dead, but… What  _the hell_ happened out there?”

“We won”, shrugged Steve. “After the gauntlet was taken away from Thanos -you blew up his arm, for the record- we took care of him”.

Y/N paused in silence for a long moment. She didn’t enjoy killing, she never had. But she couldn’t help the sudden feeling of satisfaction that irradiated through her chest. It simply felt like justice. “Who did the honors?”, she asked in a casual voice.

“Nebula”. Now it was Tony’s turn to answer. “She’s- she _was_ his daughter. Well, adopted… he had kidnapped her and her sister Gamora when they were little and then raised them, if we wanna call it that. He wasn’t exactly a caring father”

Y/N rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I figured. Gamora…”. The name sounded vaguely familiar. Her mind was still foggy, so it took her a moment to realize where she had heard it. “Wasn’t it the name that the Guardian dude- Quill, was it? He was shouting that name when they joined the battle”

This time there was a short nervous silence before anyone could answer her question. “Yes”, eventually confirmed Nat, sighing. “Thanos sacrificed her to obtain the Soul Stone. That’s why they left immediately, I think they wanna try and find her…”

“That purple fucker”, hissed Y/N under her breath. Now Quill’s actions made perfect sense. In his position, she would’ve done much worse. She glanced at Bucky, before insisting. “What happened next? The last thing I remember was the explosion”

“We ran to you as soon as we could”, explained Steve. Y/N noticed the twitch in Bucky’s jaw and she felt guilty for a moment, thinking about how tough must have been for him. Steve went on. “You were still breathing, barely. I don’t know how, but we’re all glad you were. Anyway, Loki teleported you here and found out that Shuri was alive and well”

“I have to thank Vision for that”, added Shuri, nodding towards the android with a grateful smile plastered on her face.

Y/N looked at her friend, smirking. “I assume you did the rest”.

Shuri winked cockily. “While you’re entirely correct in assuming so, because there’s no way I could count on any of these dummies-”, she started, but was interrupted by a chorus of indignant “Hey!” from the others, which caused her to burst into laughter and add: “Oh, except Peter! He’s almost half as smart as me, I like him. Anyway, honestly, I didn’t have to do much. You just needed to sleep”. She shrugged.

Y/N frowned for a moment, realizing something. “How long was I out?”

“Four days, more or less. Almost five”

“ _FOUR DAYS_?! No wonder I’m so hungry”, complained Y/N, massaging her stomach.

Everyone giggled at her outburst, and Clint handed her a cup. “You can have my coffee”. But he quickly retracted his hand when she growled, glaring at him.

“I suggest you keep your hands away from my mouth unless you want me to eat it, Barton. I feel  _snacky_ ”. Bucky rolled his head back, laughing loudly. After a moment, Y/N chuckled and gave a look around. “I can’t believe we won. Good job, guys! When’s the party?”. Her gaze immediately searched for Tony.

He was smiling, but sighed when she stared at him expectantly. “There’s actually one last thing we need to discuss. We were waiting for you to wake up to make the decision…”

***************

“So, we’re all on board with this? Doctor?”, asked Tony one last time.

Strange nodded, slowly. “It’s better this way”.

Steve glanced at the man. “What about your sacred oath?”

“I swore to protect the world. This is how we do it”, replied the wizard matter-of-factly.

They had spent almost two days straight trying to decide what to do with the Infinity Stones. Guardians and Avengers together, everyone with a different opinion. For a while, Y/N thought they were never going to agree upon anything. But eventually, there was unanimity among them that destroying all the gems was the best thing to do: leaving such power free to exist could put the universe at risk in the future. All it took was another madman.

“Alrighty, let’s do this! Ready?”. Y/N clapped her hands together, gazing at Wanda. To destroy all the Stones at once, they had thought about enhancing Wanda’s powers through Y/N’s abilities. They had never tried it before, but Tony was positive it was going to work, and he was usually right. Plus, Strange was ready to contain the eventual damages. “Okay, on my count: one, two, three!”

The shock wave made Y/N lose balance and fall backward. She hit the ground with a groan, since she still hadn’t healed completely, and every sudden movement was painful. “You okay?”, asked Bucky as he helped her up, his expression full of concern.

Y/N held onto him, breathless. “Yeah, never been better”, she chuckled, squeezing his arm to reassure him.

“Did we fail?”. Wanda, who had barely managed to stay on her feet, was staring at the point where the stones lied.

Y/N squinted as well, trying to see what happened. Tony rushed to find out. “No- the stones have been destroyed”, he announced, and he couldn’t help the heartfelt laugh that left his lips.  _And in the chaos of the moment, between laughter and cries of joy, the man failed to notice that the shattered fragments of the Soul Stone had disappeared…_

******************

“Do you have to go  _now_? You’re not even staying for a quick party?”, complained Tony with a sigh, staring at Thor with a disappointed grimaced.

Thor chuckled, patting his friend’s back. “We must give our people a new place to live”

“Where will you go?”, questioned Steve in curiosity.

The demigod smirked and glanced at his brother before replying. “Probably Norway. Seems like a good place where to start over”.

“We’re gonna be practically neighbors, then”, beamed Y/N. Then she threw herself in Thor’s arms, hugging him tightly. “I’ll miss you”.

He returned the hug, squeezing her and smiling. “And I’ll miss everybody. But we’ll see each other soon, I promise”.

“You better promise”, threatened Tony, cocking an eyebrow. “You can’t miss my wedding”.

It took a moment before they realized what he had just said. Steve’s jaw went slack as he stared at Tony. “Your  _what_ , now?”

The other snorted in amusement. “Oh, didn’t I tell you? Pepper and I are getting married”.

The next minutes were spent on congratulations and cheers. At some point, Steve put a hand on Tony’s shoulder, grinning warmly. “You deserve this, Tony”.

“Save it for your speech, Cap”, laughed Tony, winking at his friend. “You and Rhodey are gonna be my best men”.

After the announcement, it was really time for the others to leave. “Well, then. Time to say goodbye, brother”, stated Thor.

Loki rolled his eyes and look at the Avengers. “Farewell, I guess”.

Tony chuckled. “You did good, Reindeer Games. Don’t make us regret letting you free”. The God of Mischief smirked.

Y/N threw him a lopsided grin. “See you soon, Loki”

He stared at her for a split second. “That doesn’t actually sound too terrible”, he joked, and she snickered.

“I know, I’m gonna miss you too!”

As the Asgardians disappeared into the Bifrost’s iridescent light, the Avengers smiled. Nat turned to look at Steve. “Where to, Cap?”.

He smiled, glancing at Y/N before speaking softly.

“Home”.


	16. Epilogue

[Originally posted by littlemisssyreid](https://tmblr.co/ZU_u7q25MF0B_)

##  **[4 YEARS LATER]**

_I huff, frantically clicking all the buttons of the remote as the TV struggles to keep up with my childishness. Against my back, I feel Bucky’s chest vibrating with a soft laugh, and my heart tickles._

_We’re lying on the sofa, doing pretty much nothing. His arms wrapped around me like a blanket and nothing but old episodes of “Diagnosis: Murder” on TV. It’s a placid afternoon. We’ve had a lot of placid afternoons, in these past 4 years. After Thanos, everything went into place…_

_We signed new accords with the Government. Now we’re sort of part-time superheroes, we intervene when called and neutralized threats on a world scale. Of course, nothing’s ever even comparable to what we’ve been through. The Universe is safe, for now. I hope it stays that way._

_Bucky’s been officially pardoned, once they fired Ross. To be honest, they pleaded insanity and forced him to retire, but he doesn’t complain. I think he’s glad to finally rest. He’s doing much, now. We’ve been happily together ever since. Sometimes he still has nightmares and wakes up in the middle of the night, consumed with terror. He rarely tells me what he dreams, I just hold him until he falls back asleep. I think he’s scared that someday someone will just arrive and take his new life away from him. That’s probably why the nightmares will never fully go away. We’re gonna be fine, though. We have each other._

_We live in the Facility. Initially, we wanted to find a place just for the two of us, but most of our family is here. Thor, Loki, and Brunnhilde visit all the time, even when we’re off duty. They found a new place for their people, and it’s not like they have to pay to travel with the Bifrost._

_Sure, we don’t see Tony very often, lately, but we’re all happy for him. After all, he has to take care of Pepper now that she’s pregnant with their second child. Tony asked me to be the godmother. I hope it’s a girl, because little Howard is already too much like Tony. I swear, it’s like there’s two of them. We’re lucky that Steve often babysits for Tony._

_I turn to glance at Bucky, and he grins at me. I thought adjusting to this new routine would’ve been harder. We’ve been at war for as long as we can remember, and now we get to have this kind of days, days when the most excitable event is Peter coming home from MIT and bringing us May’s cookies. Despite the missions, despite not being ordinary people, we’re living this ordinary suburban life, full of haziness and hours spent snoozing in front of the TV._

_Frankly, sometimes it gets boring. There are moments when I look at Bucky with desperation, because I’m so used to fighting I’m afraid I’ll never remember how to live with peace. How to survive the haziness. But he always chuckles and says that “routine is a privilege”._

_Now I think I finally understand what he means. We have more than we’ve ever imagined and that’s something we mustn’t give up easily. We’ve earned the right to be bored. This routine is a privilege._

_That’s why when he grabs ‘Jurassic Park’ from the shelves and I start complaining because we’ve seen it a thousand times, I can’t help but laugh. And when I open the DVD case and a ring falls in my lap, I frown. Bucky is already on his knees, smirking. And even now that the tears have filled my eyes, I laugh._

_Because yes, having a routine is a privilege, but so is breaking from it._


End file.
